


Through the Soundproof Glass

by DanVaverick



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: ABBA, Alternate Universe, Brian May - Freeform, Freddie Mercury - Freeform, Gen, Loud House AU, Loud House Alternate Universe, Musical, Musical References, Musical Within A Story, Musicals, Queen - Freeform, Rock and Roll, Roger Taylor - Freeform, The Beatles - Freeform, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 00:43:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 43,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21437398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanVaverick/pseuds/DanVaverick
Summary: Luna Loud finds a fellow classmate after school playing along to an old Queen favorite. She knows him to be talented on the piano, but she's about to discover an even greater musical talent.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. A Voice Reborn

**Author's Note:**

> \- It is recommended to listen to the songs while reading along with the added lyrics.  
\- Right click on the symbol (♫) to listen to songs used in the plot  
\- Music & Lyrics used in this story by Queen and other Artists.

"Catch you dudes later!" Luna exclaimed, waving back to Sam and her fellow rockmates.

She grabbed her guitar from her locker and made her way to the music department of the school. Nothing like jamming on some sweet tunes after a long boring day of school before heading home. Passing halfway from the choir room, she halted to a muffled but familiar melody on the piano followed by lyrical vocals just behind the doors. Luna peeked through the door's slim glass window to see who was inside.

Sitting at the grand piano and tapping at the keys was a boy about his height, seeing him more than enough times during her school year. He wore a grey hoodie with a white t-shirt underneath, navy jeans and black sneakers. His hair was slightly tall and curled in a faint shade of brown. Over his eyes were a pair of dark orange glasses with light blue lenses, almost giving off an Elton John vibe. Luna knew him from their music class last semester, going by the name Jamie. Most of the students who took music knew he was exceptional at playing the piano. In fact, most of the music he played for everyone were covers of rock songs despite the teacher's more sophisticated taste in music; and Luna admired that. She wasn't so bad at the keyboard herself, but she had to admit, she wasn't as good as him.

With no hurry to go home, she stayed behind and kept watch, eyeing his fingers tapping at the keys while his upper body swayed back and forth like a demon of rock possessed him. He was playing with a deep passion like a true musician should.

_Wait a minute…_ Luna thought, squinting her eyes upon a closer look above his chin.

Were his lips moving? Her brows suddenly raised with intrigue. Seeing many of his performances in class, she never took him for a singer. Curiosity got the better of her, reaching for the knob and turning it carefully. She bit her lip, closed her eyes tight, and prayed that the undesired creak of the door wouldn't give her away. Relieved that Jamie hadn't sensed her presence, she pushed the door inward. A tiny crack of the door let out a blast of music in Luna's face while she slipped herself in, undetected by the high volume in the room. She hid behind the choir stands and continued to watch Jamie from afar. Inside, she easily recognized the tune he was playing. Anyone who listened to old classic Rock n' Roll knew this song on the spot.

A personal favorite and a revolutionary enigma: Queen's _Bohemian Rhapsody_.

[(♫)](https://youtu.be/MhkPWV97GQU?t=106)

Jamie had his laptop laid on top of the piano with the track running, hooked to the main speakers of the room to play along. His fingers softly hit the keys, playing out the iconic intro for the second verse, his lips before a microphone while mouthing along with the late Freddie Mercury's voice echoing from the speakers.

_"_ _T_ _oo late… my time has come… Sends shivers down my spine; body's aching all the time."_

_I guess he's just lip-synching. _Luna thought, much to her disappointment. From afar, however, if she didn't know any better, she could notice how well the voice matched him perfectly, as if he was singing exactly like Freddie. But what were the chances of that happening?

_"__Good-bye, everybody… I've got to go… Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth!" _The legendary voice swooned many people, including Luna herself. She too felt herself lost in the song. Her hips swayed back and forth to Roger Taylor's steady beats on the drums and cymbals. _"Mamaaaaaa! Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooooooooohhh!"_

_"__Anyway the wind blows…" _sang the backing vocals.

_"_ _IIIII don't wanna diiiieeee! I sometimes wish I'd never been born at aaaaaall!"_

Then came her favorite part. She took her hands and air guitared to Brain May's solo. He was one of her role models when it came to playing the guitar along with Slash and Eddie Van Halen. In her spare time, she would practice the solo in the garage. She struck the imaginary strings with a passion, imagining herself performing the solo on stage in front of a roaring crowd.

Then came the upcoming climax of the composition with the start of the piano, Jamie repeated hitting two keys just before he started to lip-synch again.

_"__I see a little silhouetto of a man._ _Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango? Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening me!"_

The suspenseful operatic section drew Luna in as well as the always humorous calls to Galileo, her inner rock star urging her to join the fun. She approached Jamie from behind stealthily.

_"__I'm just a poor boy, and nobody loves me…" _With luck on her side, her footsteps were drowned out by the track, but ceasing her steps just one mere foot away from him. _"He's just a poor boy from a poor family! Spare him his life from this monstrosity!"_ Jamie continued to hit the keys with the beat as Luna kept air guitaring. She joined in, lip-synching for the background vocals.

_"__Easy come, easy go. Will you let me go?_ _Bismillah! No! We will not let you go!" _

The backing vocals cried out with Luna mouthing them_.__ "__Let him go!"_

_"_ _Bismillah! We will not let you go!" _

_"_ _Let him go!"_

_"_ _Bismillah! We will not let you go!" _

_"_ _Let me go!"_

It was coming: the coup de gras of the composition. The flames of rock lit within the two, playing with a burning passion. Luna raised her arms high and rocked her head forward. She joined Jamie in the song's climax as he pounded the keys to follow.

_"__Oh mama mia, mama mia!_ _Mama mia, let me go!_ _Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me!_ _For me! FOR MEEEEEE!" _To the last verse, Luna let her voice out, singing in a great but startling falsetto.

A sudden chill ran up Jamie's spine as he heard a voice behind him. The burning passion turned into a frozen pick, striking him still as his piano playing and lip-synching came to an abrupt halt. The song went to its break of guitar and bass rifts and drums just as he turned around to find Luna behind him banging her head. Letting out a girlish yelp, he jumped, and along with the bench, he tumbled to the floor on his back.

Luna heard a loud thud and stopped her head bangs. She let out a gasp as she looked down to Jamie, staring up at her with spooked eyes. "You okay, dude?!" she shouted over the music.

"W-what are you doing in here?!" he exclaimed in heavy pants.

Luna merely chuckled, offering a hand to help him up. "Just rockin' your jam session, bro!"

Jamie went to reach for it, but his ears caught the song to where the next verse should've been sung. Mercury's voice wasn't there, and Luna seemed to notice it also.

"Crap!" He bolted up from the floor and reached for his laptop, tripping on the bench. His chest landed on the piano keys, blaring out distorted and off-key notes. With his finger pressed the touchpad, the video was paused, silencing the room. He closed his laptop and sighed with exhaustion.

Luna tilted her head, her puzzled gaze locked onto the frantic boy. "Hold on. Was that an instrumental?" she asked, pointing to his laptop.

Jamie's eyes widened as he blocked his computer from sight. An awkward smile grew on his face while a drop of sweat rolled down his cheek. "Uh, no! W-what makes you think that...?" He squeezed his hands tight behind his back, almost to the verge of twisting his fingers off. At least that was what it felt like. Luna peeked over to his computer, only for him to lean in with her, blocking it from her view.

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. He was hiding something, and she was going to find out one way or another. "Dude, I've been rocking to that song since I was seven. I know an instrumental when I hear one."

Sweat continued to roll down Jamie's face. He was backed into a corner, or in this case, the piano. "Don't know what you're talking about…"

"C'mon, Jamie. You can't lie to me."

"I'm not lying!"

"Dude, you got a smile so big, it's about to tear your face in half."

At this point, he strained to keep the smile up, and his heart was about to burst from his chest. He was cracking, but he wasn't going to give up just yet.

"T-this is my normal smile." he replied. "Nothing happening here, so there's no need for you stay here any longer."

A more devious smirk grew on Luna's face. _So that's how he wants to play it, huh?_ She reached down for the knocked-over bench and put it back up on its legs, taking a seat. She crossed her arms once more, staring up at Jamie smugly.

"Sorry, brah. I ain't going nowhere. I'm staying here until you talk."

His smile finally broke, slumping over on distorted keys as if signifying his defeat. With puffed up cheeks, he let out a heavy sigh and opened his laptop. Luna looked over her shoulder to a YouTube video titled _Bohemian Rhapsody (Instrumental)_. The silent boy looked away, crossing his arms with a disgruntled and immature huff.

Luna's smug smiled deteriorated into a softer one. Waving her hand over, she gestured him to sit next to her. Jamie hesitated for a moment, but sat down anyways. His eyes faced the floor as he fidgeted with his thumbs. An awkward but humble silence filled the void between the two. He didn't know what to say next. Maybe she didn't either.

That was until Luna took a deep breath, breaking the silence. "I just got one thing to ask."

The lack of emotion in her voice made him tremble, almost afraid to hear her question. He gulped nervously, unable to look at her. "And what's that…?" Suddenly, he felt his upper arms grabbed and pulled towards her, now faced with a pair of ecstatic eyes and a big smile surrounded by freckles.

"Why didn't you say anything about your singing~?!" she squealed excitedly, shaking him back and forth.

Once she stopped, Jamie composed himself, brushing off his arms. Bringing his glance back to Luna, he was taken aback to her sudden change in complexion. Her eyes sparkled, she held her hands up to her chest, and was jumping up and down in her seat. Jeez, it was like looking at a giddy schoolgirl.

"I uh… I never bothered to..."

Her jaw dropped. "What?! Dude! Why would you hide such amazing talent like this?! Do you realize how great it would be if you were to sing that well in front of people?!"

Jamie scratched behind his head, feeling a rush of blush touch his cheeks. "I don't think I want to even try…"

"What's the matter with you?" She frowned. "Did you suddenly get stage fright? You seem pretty confident playing the piano in front of the class last semester."

"I don't get stage fright." he stated. "Look, playing the piano in front of people is no problem. I love entertaining people! But singing, it kinda goes deeper than that. Puberty hit my voice pretty hard."

Luna winced slightly, taking in a sharp breath. "Ooooh… did your voice crack a lot…?"

He nodded. "Before then, I could sing very well without any problems. But when my voice started cracking, kids laughed at how I sounded. 'Like an angry goose', they would say. So, I didn't want to imagine what they would think if I tried singing again. It doesn't crack anymore, and I can sing much better than I did. Don't get me wrong, I love to sing! I get such a wonderful rush when I do, but I'd rather do it when no one's around."

Luna hesitantly wrapped an arm around his shoulders, not sure how he would acknowledge to a gesture from someone he doesn't know closely enough. "Sorry, brah… I didn't know it was like that."

"Thanks. It kinda helped talking about it."

She smiled and stood up from her seat. "I'm always around if you need someone to talk to, or if you wanna play a little music together." She winked. "Oh, and sorry for scaring you earlier. I... never pass up a chance to listen to some Queen."

Jamie chuckled. "Who doesn't?"

"You know, you almost had me fooled. I thought you were just playing and lip-synching to the song."

"Sorry about that." He laughed.

"No no! Don't be sorry! I think it's great that you can sing so well! It's just... for a minute there, I could've sworn your singing sounded exactly like-"

The thought hit her hard like a wrecking ball to the face. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped once again, letting out a quiet long-lasting gasp. She didn't experience shock like that since seeing Mick Swagger at the Family Fun Fair last summer in disguise.

_And now she knows…_ Jamie thought, biting his lip with a shy smile, snickering at Luna's expression.

"You can sing like Freddie Mercury?!" Her voice echoing in the room. Luckily no one else heard it.

Jamie shrugged his head at her sudden use of her loud voice, rubbing his right upper arm. "M-maybe…?"

She was left dumbstruck to his response. "Maybe? _Maybe_?!"

"W-what more do you want me to say…?!"

Luna was rendered speechless. Such a discovery would've left anyone in extravagant awe. But was it true? A contingency like this was extremely rare, and she was determined to find out. The rocker girl wiped her stunned expression off from her face and cleared her throat.

"Sing."

"W-what?"

"I want you to sing. We need to find out right now." She was never more serious in her life. And her eyes were damn scary when she was serious. "Play and sing the outro of _Bohemian Rhapsody_."

Jamie's heart skipped a beat upon her spontaneous request, fidgeting with his fingers turning his nervous gaze away.

"I-I don't know if I can…" he whispered.

"Come on, dude. This is big! If everyone knew you can sing like that, they would be blown away! No one would dare to laugh at you!" Luna saw doubt eating at his face. Perhaps a gentler approach would get through to him. Taking in a calming breath, she took a knee before him. "Jamie, imagine this as the first step of getting over your fear of singing in front of others. Let me be the first step." She nurtured his ears with a softer and more confident tone within the natural rasp of her voice. taking his hands into hers. "Will you sing for me? Please?"

Jamie eyes met with hers. Deep down, he could see his reflection in her dark brown irises, finding himself trapped in a bubble of self-discontent. He wanted to sing, but his experience from puberty kept him from that. But then again, he saw himself in Luna's eyes. A girl who was all about expressing herself through music. He had seen her perform; such confidence and passion. Nothing stopped her from doing what she loved. He used the piano to show _his_ passion, but perhaps it was time to let his voice express it even further.

Taking a deep breath, he returned the smile. "Okay. I'll sing."

"Attaboy, luv!" Luna cheered in her play-on British accent.

Jamie turned around to face the piano and reached to open his laptop, but Luna's hand covered it.

"Without the instrumental." This made Jamie swallow spit nervously. "Let the pianist within you finish the song. I take it you've practiced the song enough to remember?"

He nodded.

"If it'll help. I'll play the song with you too. Wait here."

Luna jogged off to the back of the choir stands and grabbed her guitar. She quickly set it up, plugging it into the closest amp she could find, turned it on, and strummed a few practice chords and a short solo. Jamie tapped on the microphone in front of him, picking up the echoed taps from the other speakers. Everything was in working order.

"Alright. I'm gonna pick it up right after the rock interlude and go into the ritardando and then the outro. Got it?"

Jamie nodded and took a deep breath. His fingers ready. It was the moment of truth.

"One, two! One, two, three, four!"

[(♫)](https://youtu.be/MhkPWV97GQU?t=285)

Luna took her pick and struck three ascending guitar runs. Jamie followed up with his right thumb and ring finger jumping around the keys, playing b-flats to the buildup of the outro. Luna lent her voice to the next vocal section before Jamie would get to his.

_"__Ooooooh-oooooooh-oooooooh!_ _Ooh yeah, ooh yeah!"_

Luna continued with a soft guitar melody while Jamie played gentle keys to his finale. A tightness grew in his chest, but he intended to push it out. His unique voice filled the room.

_"__Nothing really matters…_ _Anyone can see…_ _Nothing really matters…_ _Nothing really matters… to meeeeeee…"_ Jamie ended the vocals with a soft and fading vibrato. He concluded the song with softer taps on the keys with Luna strumming one last melody just before he sang out the last verse. "_Anyway the wind blows…"_

He struck one final chord, imagining a gong peal in the background.

The room fell into silence as the last chord faded. There was a slight discomfort in Jamie's chest, but it was lighter than how it felt a minute ago. He stared down at the keys, exhaling softly. The boy did it; he sang before a person for the first time since his self-admission into long vocal solitude. He licked his bottom lip, immediately pondering what Luna's response would be now that she heard him.

"So Luna… how did I do?"

With a turn of his head, Luna's eyes were flooding with tears, running down her cheeks mixed with her mascara. Her hands covered her mouth, but were too small to cover a smile so big, it looked like it hurt trying to keep it on. All that could be heard from her were soft whimpers and sniffles.

"Luna…?"

Out of nowhere, she let out a high-pitched squeal that echoed throughout the room. Jamie jumped in the bench with the crap scared out of him. Forget the schoolgirl remark; Luna was now jumping and acting like a crazed fangirl. But based on her reaction, she loved every second of his performance. Jamie's cheeks flourished in crimson red, quickly averting his eyes. Once the room was silent again, he looked back at her. She wiped her eyes clean, but her cheeks were left with faint smear marks of her mascara.

"Dude! Do you know what this means?!" She just locked peers with him, her hands hanging out and trembling. "You could become the next Freddie Mercury!" She let out another loud but softer squeal. "We gotta tell everybody!"

Jamie bit his lip hard and frantically shook his head, already feeling the chill of anxiety climbing up his spine.

"Oh no!" he exclaimed, gesturing the same answer with his hands. "Just because I sang to you, doesn't mean I'm ready to sing in front of everyone! I need time to adjust!"

Luna let out a disappointed groan. "Sorry, man! I'm just super-hyped about this! Think about it: with your voice, you could be famous! Hell, you could be Queen's new frontman! You already play the piano, so it's like you're Freddie's reincarnation! Adam Lambert's got _nothin'_ on you!"

Jamie smirked with a chuckle to follow up. "I know you're excited. I am too. But this is just a lot to take in right now. And I need to take it slow if I want to get over this problem I have. So now that I sang to you with no issue, what would be the next step?"

"The next step is to sing in front of a few more people." Luna replied. "We'll just keep adding more and more at a time until we get you to sing in front of maybe, I don't know… a rock concert's worth of people. Is that a reasonable goal?"

Jamie looked down, questioning Luna's suggestion. She was no psychologist, but she certainly took the role of one for him, figuring out a treatment for his illness. He spent a minute before making a decision.

"Before I agree to this, let me ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you putting so much effort into helping me?"

A gentle smile settled between Luna's freckles. She put down her guitar and plopped next to him.

"Because I know talent when I see it. You play like a pro on the piano, but you're even more talented with that voice! It bothers me to see you let that knack go to waste if you don't share it. Music means everything to me, and I know it means a lot to you too. I wanna help you reach to your full potential as I let others did for me. And since we'll be working on this together, I'd like us to be friends."

Jamie smiled, following with a nod. "I'd like that too. In that case, I should properly introduce myself." He offered a hand. "Jamie Maverick."

Luna chuckled and shook his hand. "Luna Loud, a pleasure ta meet ya, mate. So... does that mean you're up to the challenge?"

"Oh yeah. I'm in."

"Great! Because I've got the perfect audience for the next step. Will twelve people be okay?"

"Sounds like a lot, but I'll give it a try."

Luna showed an excited grin, giving him a firm pat on his shoulder. "Perfect! If you're available, come to my place after school tomorrow and I'll have your audience put together." They quickly pulled out their phones and exchanged numbers. Luna sent the first text to confirm their connection as well as their location for Jamie's first music therapy. "That's my address! I'm looking forward to our next jamming session, dude!" In a thrilled hurry, she packed up her guitar and made her way to the door, but not before giving Jamie a friendly wave good-bye. "Stay cool!"

With one door shut, she was gone. Jamie followed her example and packed his laptop into his backpack. Throwing it over his shoulder, he looked down at the phone screen one last time before slipping it into his pocket:

_( 1216 Franklin Ave. Royal Woods, MI )_


	2. Change of Plans

Luna walked back home humming and strutting to various Queen hits with earbuds in, mostly air strumming to Brian May's guitar notes. Just thirty minutes after finding Jamie singing like the late English front man sent her down a road of nostalgia and started a new streak of listening to the classical rock band. As soon as she would get back to the house, her first instinct was to tell her family about Jamie, his vocal talent, and his anxiety of singing for others. She made it up to the front porch and stepped through the front door. Like always, chaos was the first thing she met at the Loud house. Her siblings were doing their own things while hanging out in the living room and watching TV. Now that she thought about it, maybe it wasn't the best time to tell them yet. But she needed to make sure Jamie could come over. She put down her guitar case and danced her way to the kitchen, electric sliding out of Lana and Lola's way just as they ran out to join the others on the couch. She popped her head in, spotting her father in his usual cooking apron preparing dinner for the family. He too was dancing to a little music playing from his phone.

"Hey Pops!" Luna said as she shuffled her way in. "Sweet dance moves!"

Lynn Sr. turned to his daughter in a hundred-eighty degree turn, pointing two finger guns at her with a wink. "Not so bad yourself, my little Rockstar!" They both exchanged a laugh before turning off his phone. "You listening to old Mick Swagger there?" he asked, pointing to the buds in her ears.

She shook her head, taking them out. "Nah. I've actually been listening to Queen for most of the day."

Her father let out hearty chuckle. "That was a better time! I started listening to them when I was your age. Loved every song from them!" He turned to the sink, cleaning pots and utensils he used for preparation. "In fact, _Somebody to Love_ was on when your mom and I had our first date. It became our song when we danced for the first time."

Luna chuckled, moving forward to stand by his side. Offering a hand, she was given a suds-covered pot to rinse and dry. "Queen made a lot of good memories for you, huh?" she asked, taking a rag and drying out the pot.

"Oh absolutely!" he replied, letting out a happy sigh. His smile quickly fell and his dish-cleaning was put to a stop. "But by the time I turned twenty, poor Freddie died along with that magic voice of his. When your mom found out, she was devastated. She spent a whole week in her room, crying and listening to their songs. I think she loved that voice more than I did."

Luna shared a frown, glancing down at her half-dried pot. "Freddie Mercury meant a lot to her, didn't he?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Of course, I think what hurt her the most was her biggest hope shattered by those news." He slowly got back to cleaning dishes. He handed her a plate.

Luna dried the pot quickly and took the plate. "What hopes?" she asked, wiping the plate down.

Lynn Sr. showed a soft smile. "For one of those first date anniversaries, she hoped that he would sing our song for us. That's how much our first date and Queen meant to her."

Luna let out a trembling breath, trying to hold back the tears. The story of their love letters and their first date melted her heart and inspired her to take a chance with love. But imagining her mother with a shattered dream shook her very core. Through her father's new story, a new inspiration shot across her eyes like a shooting star across the night sky. She put away the dried plate and cleared her throat.

"Hey Pops, is it cool if I go upstairs? There's something I gotta do before I come back down."

"That's fine, sweetie." he replied, giving her an approving wink. "I'll call you down when it's time for dinner."

Without missing a beat, she left the kitchen, picked up her guitar and ran upstairs to her room. Luckily, Luan wasn't in to crack a corny joke or pry into her sister's plan. She closed the door and called Jamie. Luckily, he sent her a text message earlier to make sure she got it. She added his contacts in and called his number. His end of the phone rang twice before he answered.

_'Hey Luna. What's up?'_

"Change of plans." Luna replied. "I was gonna show you off to my parents as well, but you can sing to them for another time. For now, my siblings will be your audience."

'_Did something happen?' _

"Nah, dude. Nothing bad. I'll give you the details when you get here tomorrow-… Crap…!"

_'What's wrong?'_

"I forgot to ask my dad if you could come over…"

Dinner came around the corner for the Loud family. Luna was able to get the thumbs up from both parents to bring Jamie over for the following day. Once dinner was over, she called for an emergency sibling meeting. Despite most of their objections, they gathered anyway. They met in Lori and Leni's room for discussion of a new subject.

"This emergency sibling meeting is now in session!" Lori said, smacking a slipper on Leni's sewing table. "We won't bother reading the minutes from the last meeting and get to the matter at hand. Luna has the floor."

Luna stood from Lori's bed and made her way to the center of the room. All eyes were on her.

"Alright. I called this meeting for two things: the first thing is that I have a favor to ask from all of you." she started. "As you all know, I have a friend coming over tomorrow. His name is Jamie, and like myself, he loves to jam and rock."

"Come on! Get to the point!" Lola exclaimed impatiently, filing her nails.

Luna gave her little sister a glare before continuing on. "He has an anxiety with singing in front of people, and I want to help him out."

"It sounds like your friend Jamie is suffering from glossophobia: the fear of public speaking, or in this case, public singing." Lisa implied, adjusting her glasses. "There have been many studies of what can cause this. Did he ever say?"

"Yeah. His voice used to crack really bad going through puberty and he got picked on a lot because of it." Luna replied, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Ah yes. Bullying has always been a constant lead to the deterioration of one's self-confidence, self-image, the will to enjoy one's passions without prejudice or oppression and more… tragic results."

"So, what does your friend have to do with us?" Lincoln asked.

Luna took a deep breath. "Earlier today, I was able to convince him to sing for me. Now I want to take it to the next level to build that confidence of his back up. So, if it's not too much to ask, could you be his audience tomorrow?"

She had hoped for a big yes. Instead, her siblings let out nine loud boring groans, those on the two beds laid back in response while others just looked up. Lily played with her blanket in Luan's lap, not paying much attention or understanding the discussion anyways.

"Oh, come on you guys!" Luna snapped. "He really needs this!"

"Luna, we literally have better things to do than sit down and listen to some guy sing." Lori said flatly, leaning her hand against the sewing table.

"I bet he's not even that good!" Lynn added, tossing her soccer ball in between hands.

"Yeah." Luan said, sitting up from Leni's bed. "Some people just can't _measure _up! Hahaha! Get it?"

Luna rolled her eyes while everyone else groaned again. "Guys, listen. If you just give Jamie a chance, I guarantee that he's gonna blow all of you away just like he blew me away today!"

"Why do you feel the need to help him anyways?" Lucy asked in her usual monotone and emotionless voice. "Do you have feelings for him?"

"What?! No! I just met the guy!"

"Then what is it, Luna?" Leni asked.

Luna closed her eyes tight and held her hand up, silencing everyone. She took a few breaths until the red faded away from her face. "Because he has a voice you think you would never hear coming from another living person."

A possible reference of life and death intrigued Lucy, leaning her in closer. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Luna placed a hand over her heart. Remembering Jamie's voice filled it with pride and hope. Her brown eyes grew soft and her mouth formed a big smile, almost showing all of her teeth. "He sings just like Freddie Mercury." she replied.

Her answer filled the room with silence. The siblings looked to one another, especially the older siblings after Lincoln with the exceptions of Lisa and Lucy, wondering whether to believe Luna or not. But why would she lie? Could it be possible?

Lola, however, had a question for Luna in a rather blunt and dimwitted fashion.

"Who the heck is Freddie Mercury?"

Everyone facepalmed themselves. Lily did the same, only imitating her siblings' behavior.

Lisa cleared her throat. "Farrokh Bulsara, or as we all know him as Freddie Mercury, was the lead singer and pianist for the famous British rock band Queen. He was well known for his four-octave vocal range and his flamboyant stage persona. The world knew him well as one of the best musicians in history. No doubt our sister Luna knows this very well. Unfortunately, he died at the age of forty-five due to bronchopneumonia as a complication of acquired immune deficiency syndrome."

Everyone just looked at her silently with confusion written all over their faces from her last statement.

"Died from what now?" Lynn asked.

Lisa sighed. "He died from AIDS."

Luna pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, how he died isn't important."

"I disagree."

"My point is when Jamie sings, it's like Freddie Mercury's back from the dead! He sings just like him! I know it sounds crazy, but it's true!"

Lana raised her hand. "Sorry sis, but I'm having trouble understanding all of this. I don't even know what this Mercury guy even sounds like."

"Hang on." Lincoln said, pulling out his phone. He swiped the screen a few times and tapped it once. "Here: this is what he sounds like." He held up his phone for everyone to hear just as a song started to play.

_"We are the champions, my friends! _ _And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end!"_

The song caught everyone's attention, especially Lynn's. Her eyes lit up as soon as she heard those first two verses. "Hey! I know this song! It would play just after every game! I've always wondered who sang this!" She held her soccer ball high and swayed back and forth to the tune.

"I've always liked _Another One Bites the Dust._" Lucy said. "I'm not a fan of its upbeat tempo, but its concept of death by lead fascinates me."

"I think _We Will Rock You_ is Queen's best song." said Lincoln. "It helps pep me up for whatever the day brings."

"Yeah, no. _Crazy Little Thing Called Love_ is the best song." Lori argued.

"Nuh-uh! _We Are the Champions_!" Lynn exclaimed.

Different song titles were mentioned by each sibling. It seemed each one had a favorite song from Queen. This eventually led to an argument about which song was better, but the more they debated, more excitement filled the room. Luna finally got their attention. She just had to get it.

"Guys! Guys! Back to the matter at hand!" she said. "Just imagine Jamie singing those songs with that voice! Doesn't it sound awesome?"

"So, you're telling us your friend sounds like _that_ when he sings?" Lori asked as a thrill built up in her. In fact, everyone was thrilled about the idea.

"Exactly!" Luna laughed. "The only thing stopping him from sharing this talent to us is this anxiety of his! I want to do whatever it takes to help him get over it. So, what do you say? Will all of you help?"

Everyone but Luna huddled together and whispered in a group. It was difficult to understand due to their voices muttering over one another. Once they were done, they turned back to Luna. No longer were they able to hold back their enthusiasm.

"YES!" they all exclaimed.

Everything was going according to plan. Everyone was on board. But deep in the back of Luna's mind, something was missing. Jamie was coming over tomorrow and her siblings agreed to be his practice audience. What else could make this experience better? Then it hit her.

"I got another idea!" she announced. Her siblings drew their attention to her. "If I can get Sam and Tabby to come over as well, we can turn this little therapy session into a personal concert! We can listen to Jamie sing in the garage while we play and get the full experience! Does that sound good with everyone?"

They all nodded unanimously.

"Perfect!"

"Are Mom and Dad going to watch too?" Lola asked.

"No no no! We can't let them!" Luna exclaimed, waving her hands forward.

Her siblings looked at her puzzled with tilted heads and raised eyebrows.

"Why not?" Leni asked.

"Well…" Luna cleared her throat. "Mom and Dad are who I want to talk about next for this meeting, but I'll save that for tomorrow. It's a good thing they'll be out all day. If this music therapy session goes off without a hitch, then I have a special plan for them. So, who's ready for some Rockin' tomorrow?!"

"WE ARE!"


	3. Music Soothes the Ten-headed Beast Pt. 1

The Loud house was in chaos once again. Not in the chaos one would naturally assume, but in this case, the house was in organized chaos. The Loud siblings worked together carrying Luna's drums down the stairs, out the front door and into the garage. Lori and Luan brought down certain pieces together because of their size and weight. Lana helped Luna assemble the set once all the pieces were in the garage. Lisa was put in charge of checking sound for the microphones, amps, and other plug-in equipment. Lucy and Lynn removed the tarp from the upright piano kept in the garage and wheeled it into place to the left side of the drums. Luna played each key to make sure it was properly in tune. Sam, who rode with Luna on the bus back to the house, was tuning up her bass guitar. Like Luna, she knew Jamie from school. When she was told about his singing, she was ecstatic, being a big fan of Queen also. As soon as the piano was good to go, Luna took one last look of the completed band display: the drums were set upstage, the piano set stage right, a microphone for the drums and the piano, and two microphone stands for herself and Sam set three feet away from the drums and four feet apart from each other. With the everything assembled, the hard part was over. Now that she thought about it, she set up her own little Queen group. She had herself as her Brian May, and Sam as her John Deacon. All she needed was her Roger Taylor and last but not least, her Freddie Mercury.

Being so close to the school, Lincoln usually walked home. He strolled down the sidewalk with Clyde and Tabby along next to him. Tabby received a text message from Luna about the little concert she was putting together for her siblings. Lincoln volunteered to bring her home with him after school was let out. Tabby listened to a lot of Queen. The band was one of her biggest inspirations to enter the music industry.

"Is it cool if I hang around to see this little concert Luna's holding?" Clyde asked.

"I don't see why not." Lincoln replied. "This concert is mostly to help Luna's friend get over his fear of singing in front of people."

"Ugh, stage fright is the worst. Do you really think this guy can sing like Freddie Mercury like she said?"

"I see no reason not to believe her. She's not the kind of person to lie. If she says something, then it's most definitely true." Lincoln looked over to Tabby. "How're you doing over there?"

"Good! I'm just really excited to do this!" Tabby said, almost giggling hysterically. "Thanks again for letting me walk home with you!"

"No problem! I think this is going to be a fun experience! Let's hope this music therapy thing works out for this Jamie guy."

They made their way up to the driveway to find the little stage set up. Lincoln's sisters and Sam were there waiting outside standing in front of the garage.

"Sam! Luna!" Tabby rushed up and pulled both of them into a big hug. "It's so good to see the three of us together like this again! And just before we start playing!"

"Glad to see you're as excited as I am, lil' dudette." Luna said, stroking her hand through Tabby's punk styled hair. "We could never do this without our favorite drummer!"

The three finished exchanges with their delightful greetings as Lincoln and Clyde approached them. Clyde glanced over at the garage and surveyed the set up. "Whoa! All of this for just one guy?" he asked, almost dumbfounded.

"Heck yeah!" Luna replied, raising up a sign of the horns with her hand. "I want to make this experience as realistic as possible! So what better way to do that than to have him play and sing with a real band?"

"I like the way you think!" Tabby implied. "Does this guy really sing like Freddie Mercury?!"

"With my own two ears! You and Sam are going to be just as surprised as I was!"

Tabby squealed and jumped. "Eeee! I can't wait!"

"Uh… not to be a worrywart, Luna, but aren't you worried about Mr. Grouse complaining about the music?" Lincoln asked. His voice gave a hint of concern while pointing to his thumb to the house next door. "You know how he tends to call you out for that."

"Already taken care of." Lori replied. "I convinced him to spend the late afternoon at the Royal Woods Spa with the discount coupon I gave him. It wasn't easy to get him out of his house, but I managed to pull it off. Plus, he could _really_ use a day there."

"I mean, have you, like, _seen_ those liver spots on his head? Ew!" Leni stuck out her tongue and crinkled her nose in disgust.

"Ewwie!" Lily giggled in Leni's arms.

"We should tell him to put a rabbit on his head." suggested Luan. "That way it'll look like _hare_ from a distance! Hahahahaha! Get it?"

Everyone else, including Clyde, Sam and Tabby rolled eyes and let out dull groans.

"So, when's Jamie gonna get here?" Lincoln asked.

"He should be here any minute now." Luna replied, checking her phone.

Not a moment too soon, Jamie stopped in front of the house on his bike, silencing its running chains. He looked over the neighborhood and bit his lip, uncertain if he was in the right place. Looking at piece of paper with Luna's scribbled address, he kept an eye out for the house number. This was the right street, but was he at the right house? The young pianist dismounted from his bike and slipped off his red bike helmet. He strolled up the driveway, pulling his bike up next to him as he approached the big group in front of the garage. Most of them had their backs facing him, so he was yet to be noticed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lana spotted someone coming up the driveway. He was young, about Luna's height, kind of cute, and had that casual rock star appearance. Pretty much the only other boy she'd seen in the neighborhood that day, there was no doubt to her that it was Luna's friend.

"There he is!" she exclaimed, pointing to him.

Every Loud sister's face turned in Jamie's direction. He froze in place, halted by a dozen pairs of eyes staring at him with big awkward smiles. He stared back at them, his mind drawn a blank. The way they looked at him sent a shiver up his spine as if they were going to jump him. Was he about to enter a psycho movie? Was he going to approach with caution or was he going to run? Out of all the smiles, he noticed one missing. Where was Luna? Did she even live there? He also noticed a familiar face. Sam waved to him, standing a foot apart from the group with a younger girl next to her. An awkward silence hovered over the two parties. The distant sounds of a dog barking, birds singing, and a running lawnmower further away did not make any change in the atmosphere. Luan let out a subtle cough before grinning again. Nobody reacted.

Jamie's breath shook. He gripped the bike's handlebars firmly. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. In desperation, he lifted a leg up behind and kicked himself in the butt to push himself. He opened his mouth again. Finally, something came out.

"Um… hi?"

He jumped in place as the Loud sisters let out high-pitched ecstatic squeals. Lisa just stood with her sisters, keeping her composure and not get involved in their immaturity. Their squeals were eight times as loud as Luna's back at school the other day. It looked like he had more fangirls as well as his audience. One thing was certain though: he came to the right place. In a flash, the Loud sisters surrounded Jamie and hammered him down with questions, giggling and talking over each other. Lisa went back into the garage and set up her computer at a nearby table.

Lincoln crossed his arms and shook his head. Another boy had fallen victim to his sisters' overwhelming lack of respect for one's personal space. A usual occurrence when a sibling brings over a new friend. Especially a guy friend. Like her brother's unamused analysis of the situation, Luna simply pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Sisters…" Lincoln said under his breath.

"Tell me about it." Luna nodded. "I better go save the dude before they tear him apart or have a panic attack."

Jamie needed saving. As comfortable with people as he was, being surrounded by eight girls chattering nonstop wasn't helping. They closed in on him. He couldn't keep track of their questions and comments.

"Can you really sing like Freddie Mercury?!"

"If so, because I wonder if you're actually possessed by his restless spirit and he's trying to reach out to the world and continue his music career."

"I want to hear him sing!"

"Cool bike! Do you like to race?"

"You know, my friend once punched a driver for pulling into the bike lane. She's a bit of a _cycle-path_! Hahahahaha! Get it?"

"Will you be my lounge singer for my tea parties~?"

"Oh-em-gosh! I just had an idea for your totes awesome concert outfit! Maybe I can use the living room curtains for material?"

"Poo poo!"

Jamie couldn't escape their clutches. His breath quickened. Sweat rolled down his face. His mouth dried up. Was it him, or were the girls getting bigger while he was getting smaller? They became silhouettes. Their figures unidentified. He wasn't seeing the Loud sisters. He saw younger kids between twelve and thirteen. They weren't talking anymore. There were laughing. Laughing and taunting him. His chest tightened. His stomach twisted. He couldn't fight against it. He cowered, trembling in confliction. He shut his eyes and covered his ears, pleading for the laughing to stop. But it was no use. He could still hear them. But through the laughter, he heard a faint voice, calling his name.

_… _ _Jamie…?_

The voice fought through the laughter, pushing it away. The laughing faded while the voice became clearer.

_Jamie?_

The laughing stopped. But did it really? He opened an eye and saw a light open before him. And from that light came another figure. The silhouette approached him. The figure looked familiar, and so did the voice.

"Jamie!"

The voice was now clear, and so were his surroundings. Darkness was gone, and so were the taunting kids. Standing before him and looking down with worry was Luna. He looked around. Her sisters were silent, their eyes filled with concern and regret. His breathing slowed down and his chest loosened up. He uncovered his ears. Luna perched her hands on his shoulders carefully. His body twitched to her touch.

"Easy, dude… You okay…?"

He could swallow spit at last. With a bitten lip, he nodded. Her voice sounded rough, but underneath, it was kind and compassionate. She helped him up as he regained his composure and his senses. She let him stand next to her while she shot a glare towards her sisters.

"See, this is what I was talking about!" she growled. Every sister flinched to her harsh tone. She took a deep and calming breath. "I know you're all excited to hear him sing, but we can't just be up in his face about it…"

The Loud sisters dropped their heads and eyes down to the pavement, sharing the same frown.

Jamie placed a hand on Luna's shoulder just before she could open her mouth again. When her eyes met with his, he gave her a reassuring nod and a confident smile. He took a step forward to her sisters.

His feet were all they could see when he approached. None of them took a chance at looking up, afraid to meet a similar glare from him.

"We're really sorry, Jamie…" Lori said, rubbing her arm remorsefully.

"Like, totes sorry…" Leni agreed.

"It's okay. I'm not mad." Jamie replied. With those words spoken, Luna's sisters could look up at him as if a great weight was taken off from the shoulders. "In fact, I'm glad you saw me like that." They were left dumbstruck, but Jamie continued. "Now all of you know what happens when my anxiety gets the better of me. I've been dealing with this issue for the past four years. It hasn't been easy dealing with it. The worst thing is that I haven't done anything about it. And I'm sick of doing nothing. This is something I need to overcome alone eventually, but that doesn't mean I don't need help. Your sister was able to help me with the first step by working up the courage to sing for her. And now she's given me the chance to sing to you, a bigger group. It's not going to be easy, but please bear this with me. I really appreciate all of you taking time to help me with deal with this. For that, you have my deepest thanks."

The sisters shared small comforting smiles as the mood was set back to normal.

"So…" Lynn started, tenderly scratching the back of her head. "will we still get to hear you sing…?"

Jamie's body tensed up following her question. A tightness filled his chest. Lynn noticed his reaction and shrugged her head, looking away timidly. He fought the tightness, taking a few deep breaths.

"S-sorry…" he said. "My body reacts that way when anyone mentions about wanting me to sing… Please don't feel bad. Like I said, this is something I have to overcome…" His body repelled strongly, trying to keep him from answering Lynn's question. "B-but I promise… all of you will hear me s-sing…" His body gave up fighting back and let him regain control. He could stand normally again still with that tight feeling in his chest. He just needed to power through it.

Luna sighed with great relief, patting her chest tenderly.

"Well, now that we have this little problem literally put behind us, allow us to introduce ourselves." Lori started. "My name is Lori. This is Leni, in her arms is Lily, the youngest. Over here we have Luan, Lynn, Lucy, Lana, Lola, and Lisa." She gestured Lincoln and Clyde to come over. The made their ways over to shake Jamie's hand. "This is our brother Lincoln and his friend Clyde."

Luna made the same gesture to Sam and Tabby. "Jamie, you remember Sam, right?"

"I do!" he replied, shaking Sam's hand. "Honestly, I'm surprised you're here."

Sam giggled. "When Luna told me about your little secret talent, I didn't wanna miss this for the world!"

As soon as they broke their handshake, Tabby jumped in and hugged Jamie by the waist.

"And this is Tabby." Luna chuckled. "She's excited to meet you too."

Tabby looked up at him with highlighted eyes. "I can't wait to hear you sing! We're gonna have so much fun playing music together!"

Jamie raised a brow, puzzled by her last statement. He turned his attention to Luna. "Hold on. Play music together? What is she talking about?"

Luna bit her lip and grinned. "Sorry, brah. I wanted to surprise you." She pointed over to the garage.

Jamie looked, his mouth agape. His eyes glanced over every instrument displayed in the garage: the drums, the upright piano, and the two guitars. Speakers surrounded the stage. He thought it was just going to be him and Luna playing, but it looked like she kicked it up a notch. Lost for words, he could only swallow spit as his chest tightened again.

"I wanted to make your time here like the real deal. Which is why I invited Sam and Tabby over." Luna rested an arm on his shoulder, admiring the indoor stage. "The way I see it, dude, we just put together our own little Queen group. We just needed you." She led him to the garage with Tabby and Sam following close behind. Everyone else followed suit.

Tabby had no hesitation to take her place behind the drum set. She picked up the sticks and twirled them in her little hands. She rapped every drum, getting a feel from each one, striking the cymbals last. Sam picked up her bass and strapped it over her shoulder, strumming a few notes without the amps on.

"This is incredible…" Jamie finally said. "All of this for me?"

"Yep." Luna nodded. "With all of us put together, we're gonna sound great! Especially with that voice of yours."

Jamie was brought to the piano and everyone gathered around. It was nothing like the grand piano at school or at his house, but it was still a piano. Old, plain, and looked it hadn't been used in quite a while. Taking his seat at the bench, he inspected it carefully. He first looked at the keys. He slid his hand across the fifty-two white keys. They were soft against his fingers, feeling the finish. Good, not rough at all. How did it sound? He placed his right hand over a set of keys. His thumb, his index and ring finger played an A minor chord. The notes smoothly echoed from the large instrument. Jamie smiled as he made his way up the scale in different chords and then back down. Everything sounded perfect. He kept the chords up in a steady rhythm, with his left hand now on the keys playing a simple note two scales down matching the chords from his right hand.

Everyone around him watched with awe as each of his hands coordinated differently from one another, working together to produce harmonic bliss expelling from the piano. Lola and Lana climbed on the piano and sat on top with their legs hung over the edge. They gained a better view of watching Jamie play from above. With beautiful notes ringing in everyone's ears, they couldn't wait for the final pieces of the band to be put together. Jamie finished his warm ups with one last loud chord, letting it echo out in the garage. The next sound filling the garage was soft applause.

"This piano seems to be in working order!" he exclaimed with a big smirk.

"Glad to hear it!" Luna said. She leaned herself on the piano. "So what do ya think, dude? You ready to show everyone what ya got?"

He glanced his eyes to everyone. They all had big smiles and lit eyes as gesturing quick little nods, eager to hear his vocal talent. He took a few deep breaths. The tightness in his chest was still present, determined to let his anxiety overtake him. But not this time. With purposeful eyes, he answered with a nod.

"Yeah, I'm ready!"

Everyone let out ecstatic cheers as the private concert was about to begin. Luna strapped on her guitar with a pick in hand.

"Alright dudes and dudettes!" she announced. "Final sound check!"

The microphones were switched on for Tabby, Sam, and Luna. Each one spoke into their own with their voices amplified through the speakers clearly. Jamie, however, found that there was no microphone near the piano. Luna took notice of this quickly.

"Hey, where's the microphone for Jamie?" she asked.

"Apologies, dear sister." Lisa replied, approaching them both. "I was making some final adjustments to his microphone for a little experiment."

Luna let out a frustrated groan, rubbing her temples. "Ugh! Come on, Lisa! What did we tell you about doing your freaky experiments on friends and neighbors?"

"I assure you that this experiment will be painless and most beneficial for all of us."

"For all of us?" Lincoln asked. "What do you mean?"

Lisa placed the microphone in front of Jamie above the piano's keyboard before clearing her throat.

"I have connected this wireless microphone to a program on my computer that will allow me to read the soundwaves and vibrations from Jamie's vocal cords. Once I require the sample, I will compare it to a song sung by Queen's late lead vocalist. Luna, while you claim that Jamie sings like Freddie Mercury, I intend to prove or disprove it. We will see if Jamie's voice is identical to Mercury's or not. The way I see things: there is a difference between 'singing like' and 'singing _exactly_ like' this person. The results of the 'singing like' theory will be less than ninety-nine-point-nine-nine-nine percent while the results for the 'singing exactly like' theory will be one-hundred percent. With professionals who do impersonations and/or voiceover, they often have to strain the larynx to achieve the desired voice. Jamie will be using his natural vocals to sing. However, the odds of his voice matching with Mercury's perfectly are extremely rare. Don't be too disappointed if the results come out negative."

"That point-zero-zero-one percentage doesn't seem that big of a deal." Clyde implied. "What's the difference?"

"It's a difference in my books." Lisa replied. "Jamie, in order to attain the best results for this experiment, I ask you to use the fullest extent of your vocals."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." Jamie grinned. "Any song from Queen will require me to do that." And that was the next matter: the song. He looked over his shoulder towards the Loud siblings. "Any requests?"

Lynn, without hesitation, raised her hand and jumped in place. "Ooh ooh! Sing _We Are the Champions_!"

"No way!" Luan exclaimed. "_Sing Bicycle Race_!"

"_Good-Old Fashioned Lover Boy_!" shouted Lori.

"_Fat-Bottomed Girls_!"

The garage went dead silent. All the Louds shifted their eyes towards Leni with an innocent grin. She took notice of her siblings' baffled faces in her direction, especially from her other sisters. A veil of confusion hung over her face. "What? It's a catchy song."

While the Loud siblings continued to shout out song titles and argued, Lily paid no heed to the rabbling stirred by the older kids. She looked in every direction, observing and growing aware of her surroundings. Her eyes then caught something lying flat on the ground, something shiny. Like a fly drawn to light, she went after the object with a deepened want. Leni was preoccupied by the heated argument to realize or even feel the baby breaking free from her grasp and climbing down her leg. With her eyes still on the prize, Lily crawled across the smooth cement, letting out playful giggles and babbles.

Jamie noticed Lily's separation from her sisters to go after what appeared to be a CD case left on the ground. He reached over and tapped Luna on the elbow. He got her attention and pointed towards Lily with a humored smile. They both watched as she picked up the case. Lily's smile dropped when she realized the shine from the object was gone. Of course, the light she saw was merely a reflection from the sun's rays. Light or no light, she had something to play with. Upon further inspection, she found a big five-letter word colored in white above a picture of four men. She innocently squinted her eyes at the word, trying to make out what it said.

"Keen!" she exclaimed, holding the case high, entering a fit of giggles. She said it loud enough to stop her sibling's bickering and focus on her.

"Whatcha got there, Lily?" Lincoln asked, picking her up.

"Keen!" she said again before giving him the case.

He looked closely at it to realize it was a CD of Queen's _Greatest Hits_ album. How strange for Lily to find it on the ground. He looked to her and back at the case. He let out a soft chuckle.

"You're close, Lily!" he said. "It's Queen. Can you say Queen? Qu-_een_."

She watched his lips shape themselves to pronounce the word. Once he showed her, she took a turn to mimic his lip movement.

"Qu… qu… qu-_een!"_

Her siblings let out joyful gasps.

"That's it, Lily!" Lincoln said, raising an arm high. "Queen!"

"Queen! Tehehehe!" Lily yelled, waving her hands up.

"That is so cute!" Sam squealed. Her eyes grew soft towards Lily's accomplishment.

"You know what, guys? I think we should let Lily pick the song." he smiled humorously, showing everyone the case's cover. Receiving an approved nod from all, he flipped the case over to the song list. "Okay Lily, which song do you want Jamie to play?"

She looked down the list with a delightful one-toothed smile. At her age, words meant nothing. Only able to read words in bigger font sizes, she had trouble reading the smaller fonts on the case's back cover. She could, however, read the numbers next to the song titles. One number caught her eye and pressed her finger against the clear plastic.

"Sefin!" she said, looking back at Lincoln.

Lincoln looked at the title next to what appeared to be the number seven. "Good choice, Lily!" He rewarded her with a big kiss on the cheek, making her giggle loudly.

"What did she pick?" Luna asked.

"Looks like she wants you guys to play _Don't Stop Me Now_!"

Jamie glanced over to his temporary bandmates. "Can you guys sing and play that song?"

"I'm all for it, dude!" Luna replied, hugging her guitar.

Sam replied with a confident smirk. "Oh yeah!"

"Let's do it!" Tammy exclaimed.

Sam and Luna turned on their amps and strummed a few soft chords. Both guitars were clear and loud through the amps. Jamie tapped and spoke into the microphone in front of him. He turned to Lisa near her computer with a pair of headphones on. She looked back at him with a thumbs up.

"One more thing." Lincoln said. He stepped forward with Lily and set her down on the bench next to Jamie. "I figured since she picked the song, she should have a front row seat of the show."

Lily giggled and babbled, looking up at Jamie as she clapped her hands. Jamie couldn't help but let out a small laugh, unable to stop smiling from her humorous innocence. He decided to roll with Lincoln's little game. But as he looked back down at the keys, his smile dropped. It was happening again: the tension, the worry… the fear. His breath grew quick with a few drops of sweat running down his face.

Lisa closed her right eye tightly. With the headphones on, she could hear his breathing through the microphone.

"It appears Jamie's anxiety is acting up again…" she said flatly.

Jamie grit his teeth and gripped his fists tightly. "I'm sorry guys…" He turned his head to everyone.

"You got this, Jamie." Lori said, nodding her head slowly.

Just from looking at the Loud siblings and their friends, he knew they were all there to not only hear him sing, but most importantly to give him moral support. They each gave their own gestures of encouragement. It was helping, at least a little. He looked over to his bandmates who did the same.

"That stress you're feeling is gonna go away once you start singing." Sam implied. "We're right behind you."

"Let the rock star within you burst from your chest like a rising phoenix!" Tabby exclaimed.

With many more words of reassurance, Jamie could feel the stress fade away, but the tightness in his chest was there once again. And much like before, he was going to beat it. He closed his eyes while he positioned his fingers on the piano's keys. He let himself go.

He began with a short instrumental on the piano, playing the melody of the song before his vocal introduction. The single notes and chords of the keys echoed in the garage. The Loud siblings and their friends watched with ease and amazement as he gave them a further demonstration of his pianist skills. This only built up their excitement as they were expecting to hear him sing anytime. He was building it up with the score even further by tapping the keys to match the notes with the words of the song's title. He was almost there. Hitting the piano keys for the last ten notes, he held his finger on the tenth note. The last note echoed in the room for everyone to hear before it faded. They held their breaths…

Then they heard his…


	4. Music Soothes the Ten-headed Beast Pt. 2

[(♫)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctG-n-Sj2TY)

"_Tonight, I'm gonna have myself… a real good time…_" he started, playing soft chords and single notes. "_I feel aliii-hi-hi-hiiiive!_" His upper body swerved back and forth in place with the music. He was in the zone. He let himself go and took a ride on the Rock n' Roll train. Fear was no longer welcome.

Widened eyes. Dropped jaws. No words to be said. Luna couldn't help but cough up a snicker to everyone's unanimous expressions. The Louds and their friends were practically frozen in tremendous awe. Even Lisa, a girl of science and logic, was struck with the same metaphorical ailment. With her headphones, she heard the full extent of his voice like she wanted. They witnessed, or in this case, listened to Jamie's voice while he played the opening melody. It was just like Luna said. The famous voice of Freddie Mercury escaped from his mouth. It was clear. It was indistinguishable. It was hard to believe, but Jamie proved it.

"_And the world… I'll turn it inside out! Yeah!_" He turned his head towards his bandmates. His voice grew soft and airy as he raised it falsetto. "_I'm floating around… in ecstasy, so…_"

"_Don't. Stop. Me. Now…_" Luna, Sam, and Tabby's voices joined his, providing the backing vocals. Jamie pleasingly grinned with half-lidded eyes, playing six notes after. With guitars and drumsticks in hand, they were ready to kick their little concert up a notch. "_Don't. Stop. Me._"

Tabby rapped a cymbaling rhythm lightly while Jamie struck harder chords. Their voices strengthened and sang in harmonious bliss, building the song up to its early climax and its true tone.

"_Cause I'm having a good time! Having a good time!_"

Tabby led them with a short drum roll and a loud strike on the cymbal. She kept a firm and steady beat while Luna and Sam plucked their guitars. Jamie's hands were jumping all over the keys and took his amplified voice to the main verses. The garage exploded with real rock n' roll. Lincoln, his sisters, and Clyde cheered loudly as the band was finally jamming. They tapped their feet, nodded their heads and snapped their fingers to the rhythm.

"_I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky, like a tiger, defying the laws of gravity!_" he sang aloud into the microphone. "_I'm a racing car, passing by, like Lady Godiva! I'm gonna go, go, go! There's no stopping me!_"

At this point, the Louds broke into dance around the band. Most of them anyways. Lisa stayed in front of her computer to continue recording Jamie's singing, but would once in a while do a few spurts of the moment dance moves. Lucy stood in one spot next to Lisa. She wasn't into dancing, but with nods to the beat and a little smile, she was having a good time.

"Sigh…~" she whispered in a less monotone voice than usual.

Lincoln and Clyde swing danced with each other, keeping together with one hand while they synchronized in motion around Luna. Lola and Lana swayed side to side with each other as they kept watch of Jamie from top of the piano. Lynn, Luan, and Leni stayed and danced together, bumping hips. Lori hung out next to Tabby and the drums, tapping her feet and clapping in rhythm. For the upcoming first chorus, Tabby picked up a headless tambourine with one of her sticks and tossed it to Lori.

"_I'm burning through the sky, yeah! Two-hundred degrees! That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit! I'm travelling at the speed of light!_"

Luna, Sam, and Tabby gave their voices once again.

"_I wanna make a supersonic man out of you!_"

Jamie hit the same note over and over as the first chorus approached. Tabby winked to Lori, signaling to use the tambourine. Lori grinned and tapped the instrument into her palm along with the beat. She lent her voice for the chorus while her siblings danced on vigorously.

"_Don't, stop me now!_"

"_I'm having such a good time. I'm having a ball._"

Lola and Lana raised their heads and sang as well, still swaying to the tune.

"_Don't, stop me now!_"

"_If you wanna have a good time… just give me a call!_"

Now everyone was singing together for the chorus. Leni, Lynn, and Luan next.

"_Don't, stop me now!_"

"_Cause I'm having a good time!_"

And then Lincoln and Clyde while rocking side to side, shoulder to shoulder. Jamie looked at everyone having the time of their lives, singing to their hearts' content. Even they had good voices. Both his eyes and smile showed a hint of pride.

"_Don't, stop me now!_"

"_Yes, I'm having a good time! I don't wanna stop at all!_"

Jamie played a short interval on the piano with both hands hitting fierce chords. Fascinated by his piano playing, Lily wanted to play too. She stood on the bench and leaned forward. Her tiny hands pressed two keys back and forth on the far-left end of the piano. Strangely enough, those two keys worked well with the piano's melody. Jamie reached over and rubbed her head, earning a giggle from her. Tabby struck another short drum roll before returning to the steady beat.

"_I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars! On a collision course!_" Jamie continued. "_I am a satellite. I'm out of control. I'm a sex machine ready to reload… like an atom bomb! About to…_"

"_Oh... ohh-ohh-ohh-oh explode!_" the Louds sang, laughing together the moment after.

"_I'm burning through the sky, yeah! Two-hundred degrees! That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit! I'm travelling at the speed of light!_"

Luna sang with Jamie for a momentary union of harmonic vocals.

"_I wanna make a supersonic woman of you!_"

The piano, the guitar and the bass were dropped to silence for the song's short drum solo. Tabby kept the steady beat with the rapping drum and cymbal. The backing vocals and their extra six sung first with Jamie following suit.

"_Don't stop me! Don't stop me! Don't stop me!_"

"_Hey, hey, hey!_"

"_Don't stop me! Don't stop me! Ooh-ooh-ooh!_"

"_I like it!_"

"_Don't stop me! Don't stop me!_"

"_Have a good time! Good time!_"

"_Don't stop me! Don't stop me! Awwwwww yeah!_"

Tabby finished with a built-up drum roll before smashing hard on the cymbals. Jamie jammed on the keys, Sam strummed her bass, and Luna struck a fierce bend while going into the song's guitar solo. The amps let out her guitar's screams. Her left hand stayed on the twelfth fret of the guitar's neck where most of the string bends took place while her pick plucked the four thinner strings around the pickups. She played her guitar with a burning passion. Her siblings cheered on and clapped in rhythm as she mastered the art of the guitar solo. Near the end of it with Jamie picking up his vocals again, her fingertips bent the strings for the last few times. Her fingers now jumped up and down the neck playing various notes in an almost improvised manner.

"_Ohhhh, I'm burning through the sky, yeah! Two-hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit! Hey! I'm travelling at the speed of light! I wanna make a supersonic man out of you! Hey, hey!_"

The Louds grouped together and joined in for one last chorus. Lori raised the tambourine high and rung it in the hypnotic rhythm.

"_Don't, stop me now!_"

"_I'm having such a good time. I'm having a ball._"

"_Don't, stop me now!_"

"_If you wanna have a good time, just give me a call!_"

"_Don't, stop me now!_"

"_Cause I'm having a good time!_"

"_Don't, stop me now!_"

_"__Yes, I'm having a good time!_"

Everyone raised their voices loud and proud. They gave it all they got for the big finale.

"_I don't wanna stop at all!_"

Luna and Sam and strummed their guitars one last time as all voices faded down. Tabby gave one last strike to a cymbal to finish her role. Jamie was left performing a soft melody to the main tune. He vocalized to the lyrics as the song was coming to an end. His voice grew softer as well as the piano's notes, fading away. His voice finished first, leaving him to tap a few more simple keys. He finished the composition with one last chord.

He let out a relieved sigh. He turned himself on the bench to face the others, only to be blasted with loud squeals and applause. All eyes were on him with hands clapping and whistling. He shrugged his head sheepishly and bit his bottom lip as his cheeks hinted a shade of red.

"Mate, that was bloody phenomenal!" Tabby exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.

"Seriously Jamie," Sam said. "you have an amazing voice!"

The Loud siblings clamored over each other, nodding in agreement.

"You could literally be the next Freddie Mercury!" Lori added.

"I told you guys, didn't I?" Luna said, grinning proudly. She looked at Jamie who was now flustered. As the others commented on his singing, she could see the more sensitive side of him when it wasn't being stirred by his anxiety. The little concert went off without a hitch. Maybe he was starting to finally to come out of his shell. However, it was too early to draw that conclusion. For now, she enjoyed the moment with him.

"T-thanks, everyone." Jamie chuckled nervously. "You did great too!" He looked to the Loud siblings. "All of you! I think you guys have a lot of potential in singing!"

The sisters' cheeks turned red, some timidly looking away.

"Come on, Jamie." Lynn said, scratching the back of her head. "We're not_ that_ good. At least, not as good as you."

"Yeah!" Leni added. "You totes sound just like that singing man!"

A young throat was cleared. All heads turned to Lisa who stood next to her computer.

"My dear siblings, it is too soon to decide that for ourselves." she began, receiving a low groan from her siblings. "It is true that the human ears can pick up one sound and compare it to another that we may consider to be identical, but our hearing is not as accurate as other species." She gestured everyone to gather around her computer as she displayed the screen, showing a recording program. They huddled together, struggling to get a good view. She fixed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose as she looked up to Jamie. "Thanks to your cooperation, I have been able to acquire a clear reading of the soundwaves from your vocal chords, which are displayed on the screen here in pitch and duration. Now that we have this sample, we can now add a pre-recording of Freddie Mercury's vocals to compare. This will be the final step in the experiment to determine if your voice is truly identical to his."

With the movement and clicks from her mouse, she opened a music file to display on the screen. Under Jamie's recorded soundwaves was Mercury's. "In order to gain more accurate results," she continued. "I decided to use a different song. No matter how different the songs may be, we are looking for similarities in the pitch of both your voices. We will play yours first."

She clicked on play, and they all listened to Jamie's voice singing out one section of the song. Everyone listened to him very carefully, keeping a mental memory of his voice for the next sample.

Lisa paused the clip. "Now here is Mercury's."

She scrolled the mouse down to the next set of soundwaves and clicked play. The second sample was _Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy_. It was sung with a softer voice, limiting the full-scale vocal range. There was no doubt from everyone that both voices were very similar to one another. However, they took Lisa's remark about the human ears into consideration. The voices sounded identical, but it wasn't for certain. The clip was paused.

"It is time for the moment of truth." Lisa announced. With a press of a button, the screen scanned both samples in a slow pace. Many fingers were crossed at this point. Everyone wanted the results to be positive, especially Luna. Jamie said nothing, keeping himself from getting any hopes up. As the program continued to scan, the printer next to the computer pushed out a sheet of paper with the results bits at a time. It a minute, but the scanning was complete. Lisa took the printed sheet and handed it to Jamie.

He took the results in his hands and looked it over. Other pairs of eyes hovered over his shoulders, taking a peek as well. The results were shown as a chart with both samples and numbers. They both certain makings within the soundwaves. He stared at the sheet for almost a minute without saying a word. Was it a match, or was there a minor flaw? An uncomfortable cloud of silence hung over everyone. Luna bit her lip, hesitant to put a hand on his shoulder.

"I… don't understand…" he muttered.

Lisa took a deep breath. "I'm sorry the results didn't come out the way you wanted them to…" she said sympathetically. "Occurrences like these are often rare and-"

"No, I really don't understand. I don't even know what this means."

"Yeah, Lis." Lincoln said. "Maybe you should just tell us what the results are."

Lisa pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a disappointed sigh. If only her siblings were as intelligent and advanced as she was. Taking the sheet back, her eyes moved from left to right downwards, muttering to herself.

"Well?" Lori asked.

Lisa dropped the paper from her eyes as she showed her normal expressionless face. Perhaps the results were negative after all. But much to everyone's surprise, she looked up to Jamie with a smile.

Jamie's breath was held as he saw her small gesture. His eyes slightly widened as if he was put into some sort of trance. They last thing everyone saw from him was a cracked smile. They all gasped. By then, they were all smiling, believing at that point the results came out positive. But they needed to be sure.

"So, does that mean…?" Luna asked, biting her lip and jittering in potential excitement.

"Normally, I don't care for inane human emotions but…" Lisa started. She raised the results high above her head, no longer able to contain herself. The biggest grin no one had ever seen from her as she jumped in place. "It's a match!"

Nobody else could contain themselves any longer. Cries and squeals of utter joy echoed in the garage. Almost immediately, they all huddled and gave Jamie a big group hug. He was the only one not playing along, most likely from being completely dumbfounded and suffocating from everyone's combined and ultimate embrace. He was stiff as a board in their arms.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Luna squeaked gleefully. "Dude, did you hear?! You're gonna be a legend!" She heard no response. "Uh, dude?" All eyes looked to him, only to find his face blue and his cheeks puffed.

Lisa quickly stepped away from the group hug. "It would appear our hug is cutting off the oxygen flow from his lungs."

Taking her lead, the rest pulled away. The blue from Jamie's face disappeared as he took a deep gasp, letting out a heavy exhale after. He put a hand to his chest, taking a few breaths.

"Oopsie! Sorry, Jamie!" Leni said sympathetically.

"You're all good…" he replied. "I just… wow…" Still shocked from the experiment's results, he took a seat back on the bench, chuckling silently. "I knew I sung like him, but I didn't think it was actually legit…"

"Science doesn't lie, my talented homo sapient." Lisa implied, showing the sheet of paper. "The tests determined that you and Freddie share identical pitches in your singing vocals. It is a one-hundred percent guarantee."

"Okay, now that we all know Jamie can sing exactly like Freddie Mercury, I want to discuss what to do with it next." Luna announced.

"What do you mean?" Lincoln asked.

"It's the second matter I wanted to tell you guys from our emergency sibling meeting last night, remember?" Her siblings nodded. "Good! So we all know that Mom and Dad's love letter anniversary is coming up in a few weeks, right? Well, I want to do something special for them."

"And this involves Jamie's singing?" Lynn asked.

"You got it! Dad told me yesterday that he and Mom share a special song. And it happens to be a song from Queen. I figured if we can get our band booked that night at Banger's & Mosh, we could perform the song for them as a little present from the family."

"Which song are we talking about, Luna?" Tabby asked.

"We're going to play _Somebody to Love_."

"Awww! I love that song!" Sam squealed.

Jamie chuckled, knowing the song all too well, having both played and sing it in isolation countless times. The memory however was cut short from a sudden thought.

"Hang on. Not that there's anything wrong with the idea, but why would you need me for it? Couldn't you guys sing it yourselves?"

For once, the outgoing and ecstatic Luna Loud frowned to his question. "Not only it would make Mom and Dad really happy, but I think it'll help Mom most of all."

"What do you mean?"

Everyone was drawn in to Luna's sudden mood change. Her raspy voice grew soft and fragile. "Mom loved Freddie Mercury the most out of the members of Queen." she started. "She was in love with his singing. You could say her love for him is equal to my love for Mick Swagger. When she and Dad shared that song, she hoped that one day on that anniversary, Freddie would sing it for them. But that never happened. Dad told me she was devastated when she heard Freddie died. She stayed in her room for days, crying and listening to his music… That dream of hers fell apart…" She sighed. "I can't blame her though. I would be the same if anything happened to Ol' Mick…"

The other siblings shared the same frown and emotion. The thought of their own mother crying in a pit of depression was an uneasy and uncomfortable picture. It hit them hard, almost to the verge of tearing. A few sniffles were made from amongst them.

Tabby, Sam, and Jamie glanced away, pondering the same thought of their own mothers. Jamie looked up, meeting with Luna's imploring gaze.

"Jamie. Now that we know you have his voice, it would mean so much to all of us if you could sing for my Mom. I know it won't be from Freddie himself, but it would at least be his voice singing it. It would be _your_ voice."

There wasn't much to think about. She was determined to have him sing for her parents. No wasn't going to be an answer. Jamie looked over her side, noticing her siblings giving him the same soft pleading eyes. The younger siblings gave him puppy eyes and stuck out bottom lips, even Lucy but without the eyes. With such cuteness all staring at him, he couldn't help but chuckle. He returned eye contact with Luna and smiled. "It's not like I can say no anyways. So yeah. I'll do it."

While the siblings cheered in accomplishment, Luna leaned forward and pulled him into a tight and warm embrace.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed.

Jamie sighed happily with a hinted blush, accepting her gesture and returned it.

Lucy pulled out a crystal ball from behind her back and hovered her hand over it, her eyes focused both on the object and Luna and Jamie. "Uuummm…" she muttered in meditation. "The spirits are telling me there is a bright future for them. They also say their future will be a course of smooth and rapid rivers. Their first obstacle will be revealed in chapter five…"

Lincoln looked at Lucy with a raised brow and a disturbed glance. "Uh… Lucy, who are you talking to…?"

"The spirits never lie…" she said, ignoring her brother's question completely.

Breaking their hug, Luna gave Jamie a confident grin. "Do you think you can handle singing in front of a bigger audience?"

Jamie bit his lip, but eventually grinned back. "I know I'll start getting uncomfortable with the idea, but as long as I have you to help, I'll get over it. I think today helped me open up to the suggestion."

Luna chuckled and playfully ruffled his hair. "Attaboy. Now, what should we do first?"

Jamie stood from the bench and stretched his arms. "The first thing we should do is to have everybody become familiar with the song; the lyrics, the music, when to sing and at what pitch." he replied, gesturing his hand towards Luna's siblings.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Lincoln exclaimed. "You want _us_ to sing too?"

"Yeah, man!" Luna replied. "I want this present to be from all of us!"

Her siblings muttered amongst themselves, shrugging their heads and looking away uncomfortably.

"I don't know if we can do that…" Lori frowned. "We're literally not as talented as you guys are."

"But you can still sing!" Jamie implied. "This song won't work if it's just the four of us. When Queen recorded the song, they layered their voices over and over to get that soulful one-hundred-voice choir. With all our voices put together, we can get those same results." The Louds continued to express uncertainty. He took a breath. "I heard all of you sing when we played. I love your enthusiasm! You're not afraid to perform in front of a crowd like I am. That's the difference between all of you and myself. Believe me when I say you sing better than you think. Don't doubt yourselves."

"And remember," Luna said. "this is for Mom and Dad. They'll be so happy and so proud to hear us sing for them. Especially to a song that means a lot to them."

The Louds huddled together and whispered to each other in discussion. Lily popped her head out from the group and waved to Sam. Sam giggled and waved back. After a minute, they broke up the huddle and faced the band.

"Where do we start?" Lincoln asked, eager to begin.

Jamie looked to Luna. "It's your call."

Luna nodded and approached them. "Alright, dudes and dudettes. I'll get copies of the lyrics printed and passed out later. I suggest listening to the song and memorizing the lyrics three times a night until you're able to memorize it."

"Is that like doing homework?" Lana asked.

"Hey! I didn't sign up for this just to do homework!" Lola complained.

Jamie laughed. "It's not homework. But Luna's right. The sooner you can memorize those lyrics, the sooner we can get started on doing the real thing."

"And we need to make sure we're all clear on one thing," Luna said. "_do not_ let Mom and Dad find out about this. We need to keep this a surprise. And don't tell them about Jamie's voice either. Got it?"

The siblings all responded with the gesture of zipping their mouths shut and throwing away the key in unison. A small digital ding went off in Jamie's pocket. He pulled his phone out, receiving a text message.

"Shoot." Jamie grumbled. "I gotta get going."

"Aw! So soon?" Leni sadly asked.

"Yeah… but don't worry! We'll have time to get together again and start rehearsals." Jamie looked over to Clyde. "Will you be able to join too? We could use another set of male vocals."

"Uh… sure! I'll be here!" Clyde replied, puffing up his chest in a masculine manner.

"Great!" Jamie jogged over to his bike and slipped on his helmet. He looked back to Luna. "Give me a call when you find a time to get together!"

Luna gave him a thumbs up. "You got it, brah!"

Jamie mounted his bike and took the first few pedals down the driveway while waving goodbye. "See you later!"

"Bye, Jamie!" they all exclaimed, waving back to him.

In no time at all, he was out of sight as he pedaled down the street. Tabby and Sam approached Luna from behind and stood next to her.

"That bloke is really something, eh?" Tabby asked, crossing her arms and grinning.

"Yeah. He sure is." Luna replied softly with half-lidded eyes.

"He is pretty cute." Sam added. "If you fancy short guys." she laughed.

"Oh, knock it off…!" Luna said, giving Sam a playful shove.

"He's cute and can sing like ol' Freddie Mercury." Tabby continued, nudging Luna with an elbow. "A good combo if you ask me."

"Come on, I said knock it off…!" Luna mumbled, cracking an unwanted smile.

Just as Jamie was out of sight, a taxi pulled up to Mr. Grouse's house. Mr. Grouse himself stepped out of the taxi and made his way to his porch. He was looking less grumpy than normal.

"Hi, Mr. Grouse!" Lori waved. "How was your afternoon at the spa?"

"It was good for these old bones!" he called. "Thank you for the coupon! It was just what I needed! But I think one of the workers there put too much effort into waxing my head! What do you think?"

He took off his hat, showing a very waxed bald head. Immediately the sun's rays bounced off his head and shot towards the Louds. They all squinted their eyes from the brightness, but Lola got the worst of it. Her eyes were hit directly by the sun's rays, temporarily blinding her. She fell to her knees and cried in agony.

"Aaaahh! My eyes!"


	5. Songs Within the Shell

_Friday, May 11_ _th_

Exactly two weeks away from Mr. and Mrs. Loud's love letter anniversary. A week had already passed since _Operation Give Mom And Dad The Best Music Performance Ever For Their Love Letter Anniversary and Also Think Of A Shorter Name For This Operation_ was put into action.

Every day for the past week, the Loud siblings studied to memorize the lyrics and their roles as they would provide the backing vocals for the song. With every piece of spare time they got, they practiced singing in their rooms with their respective roommates. Luna would often visit them and oversee the progress. Listening to them, she listed down their vocal ranges to determine where to put them for the harmonic layout. Some of these private practices, however, were limited due to their parents' presence in the house. A few close calls were made, but thankfully neither parent caught wind of their plans.

During the late afternoon while working on the vocal arrangements, one sister remained reluctant in opening up her voice for the cause.

"Come on, Lucy." Luna said, sitting on Lynn's bed. "It's not like you have to do this every day for the rest of your life. It's just for practice and Mom and Dad's date."

Lucy crossed her arms and turned her head away. Her pale cheeks grew a faint red and her bottom lip was softly bitten. Being used to speaking with the monotone voice for so long, just the thought of using her normal voice to sing was cringe-worthy. Her little shoulders and legs trembled as if the room had suddenly dropped to freezing temperature.

"I-I don't know…" she shuddered. "What if you guys laugh…?"

"We would never laugh at you, sis…" Lynn frowned. "We're in this together, and we get each other's backs." She wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders. "You know I always got your back, right?"

Lucy shrugged her head. "Maybe…"

Lynn rolled her eyes. "Come on. You know that whatever you do, I'll support you. We all will. One-hundred and ten percent."

One-hundred and ten percent. The effort Lynn would always put into everything she did on a daily basis. Lucy, however, was the complete opposite. While Lynn was the outgoing and hyperactive sports jock, Lucy was always the quiet and self-secluded goth. But every once in a while, the two would come to terms of common understanding. If there was one other sibling Lucy could open up to besides Lincoln, it was her sister and roommate, Lynn. The music they listened to were different from one another, but they both loved music overall. On this occasion, they shared another common trait: the love for their parents and to make them happy and proud, especially on a day that meant a lot to them. Would Lucy take the leap of faith to help fulfill her mother's shattered dream?

"And think about this:" Luna added. "you're not the only one feeling this way. We're helping Jamie overcome his fear too. That's something you two have in common: the struggle to express your inner selves."

She was right. If Jamie could get over his discomfort of singing freely in front of people, so could Lucy. She took a moment to think it over and came to a decisive conclusion.

"Sigh…" she muttered. "I guess I'll try…"

Lynn and Luna exchanged relieved grins.

"There you go, Lucy!" Lynn said, patting her back.

Lucy took a deep breath and lightly scraped the carpet with her foot. "If I'm going to demonstrate my singing… can I at least show you with a different song…?"

"Sure." Luna replied, smiling softly. "Anything that makes you comfortable."

"May I borrow your phone?"

Without hesitation, Luna handed Lucy her cellphone.

"Normally I do this one when no one's around…" Lucy added, scrolling through YouTube and tapping at the keyboard. "being one of my…" She stopped scrolling and tapped the screen once more, her pale cheeks turning redder than before. "breaks from the darkness."

[(♫)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZUX3j6WLiQ)

She handed the phone back to Luna. The phone immediately started to play an uplifting tune and beat from its tiny speakers. Both Lynn and Luna's eyes widened to Lucy's unusual selection. Just hearing the opening theme, they knew what it was. Another old classic from the seventies.

"No way…" Lynn whispered in disbelief, cracking a smile.

Lucy nodded her head to the rhythm. She felt her little chest tighten up as the intro was about be sung. She fidgeted with her fingers nervously. It was now or never, she thought. Another closet door had opened. She parted her lips and sang. Instead of her low monotone voice, it was a shivering soft and high voice, slightly close to Lynn's.

"_Y-you can dance…_" she sang quietly, wearing an uneasy frown. "_You can jive… H-having the time of your life…~ Ooh, see that girl… watch that scene… d-digging the dancing queen…~_"

Lynn and Luna's jaws dropped as they listened to Lucy using her hidden normal voice to sing. It was a major shock. They could only stare as neither one could form words. Lucy rubbed her arm uncomfortably as the first verse was coming up from the short melodic break. She looked away, quivering of what her sisters would think or say. Singing the intro was tough enough without breaking down, but to continue felt too much of a task.

With big and wide smiles on their faces, Lynn and Luna wanted to hear more. They looked to each other with Luna nudging her heard towards Lucy. Lynn gestured a wink in response, following Luna's lead. They thought of the best way to encourage their little sister.

Lucy couldn't build up the courage to sing anymore for the first verse. However, she didn't need to. Help was right in front of her.

"_Friday night and the lights are low~ Looking out for a place to go~_"

Lucy's lips hung open as her sisters sang for her. She bit her lip as they came over and stood along with her. They held her in their arms, rocking her and themselves back and forth slowly to the beat.

"_Where they play the right music,_ _getting in the swing~ You come to look for a king~_"

Their gentle and secured embrace warmed Lucy's heart and rid any worry or fear of embarrassment that filled her head. She felt a lump in her throat as she held back the tears under her bangs, revealing a loving and thankful smile. How did she get so lucky to have such sweet and understanding sisters?

"_Anybody could be that guy~ Night is young and the music's… high~ With a bit of rock music, everything is fine~ You're in the mood for a dance~ And when you get the chance…~_"

Lynn and Luna kept her close as they continued to sing for her. Lucy locked arms with theirs. Working up the courage once more, she sung with a clearer voice for the chorus, joining in on the bodily rocking. All three raised their heads and sang loud and clear.

"_You are the dancing queen~! Young and sweet, only seventeen~!_ _Dancing queen~! Feel the beat from the tambourine~! Oh yeah~!_"

Between the three of them, Lucy sang the loudest and the proudest.

"_You can dance, you can jive~! Having the time of your life~! Ooh, see that girl, watch that scene~! Digging the dancing queen~!_"

The song continued to play in the background, but it was enough to satisfy the three sisters. They shared soft chuckles in a tighter embrace. Lucy sniffled with a trembling grin, growing more emotional every second. The dam in her eyes broke as the tears ran down from under her bangs. Her legs shook to the point of collapsing down to her knees. Lynn and Luna joined her down on the floor.

"That was beautiful…~" Luna whispered, stroking her head.

Lynn was never one to show affection, but in this case, she made an exception. She planted a gentle kiss on Lucy's soaked and flustered cheek. "We're so proud of you, Luce…~"

Lucy shuddered and choked up in their arms. The tears wouldn't stop.

"I-I love you guys…" she whimpered, returning to her usual monotone but broken voice.

"We love you too, Lucy…~" Lynn and Luna said in unison.

They stayed together and savored the sister-loving moment. Lucy raised her head slightly and let out a soft gasp, alarming the other two. They all looked towards the opened door to find their other siblings poking their heads through. Their eyes were soft and half-lidded with each one wearing a compassionate smile.

Lucy stood up, wiping away the tears from under her bangs as quickly as she could, but there was no doubt that her other sisters and brother had seen them. Did they hear her sing too?

"G-guys… I um… I-I…" she stuttered, gripping the hem of her gown tightly.

"It's okay, Lucy." Lincoln said. "We know."

She shrugged her head. "Y-you do…?"

"Yeah." Lori replied. She lightly knocked on the bedroom wall nearest to her. "Thin walls, remember?"

The thin walls. Of course. In the Loud house, there was no such thing as privacy. If a pair of sisters from one room brought up a topic, then everyone could hear it through the thin walls. And being the meddling siblings like they were, they would join in on the discussion and make things worse.

"Oh yeah…" Lucy groaned. She paused for a moment looking at her siblings. Something was off. They were unusually calm. Normally at this point, they would go bananas over Lucy's new pastime. There was another lump in her throat. Her trembling hands stretched her gown's hem tighter. Were they waiting to catch her off guard to say anything like she always did with them?

"W-well…?"

"Well, what?" Lana asked.

Lucy dropped her head slightly. "Aren't you going to start making a big deal of my singing…?" She braced her mentality for it.

"We're not going to make you go through that." Luan answered, smiling sweetly. "I won't even make a joke about it."

"You won't…?" Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

"We think your singing is amazing." Lori added. "And this being one of your so-called 'breaks from the darkness', we promise not to make you feel uncomfortable about it."

Lincoln approached Lucy. "It surprised all of us. It's… nice to hear your normal voice every now and then." He noticed her cheeks turning red again. "We know it's out of your comfort zone, but if anything, it's worth listening to you sing. I know Mom and Dad are going to feel the same way."

Lucy said nothing. The only sound from her was a small inhale from her nose. She moved closer to her brother and buried her face into his shoulder, grabbing him in a warm hug.

"T-thanks for understanding…" she said. "All of you…" She looked over Lincoln's shoulder to her sisters, offering her hand to them. Without hesitation, they joined in the hug. It only proved that family was indeed important, and when Lucy needed comfort and support, she could always rely on her brother and sisters.

"So Lucy," Luna said. "you still on board singing for Mom and Dad?"

Lucy nodded into Lincoln's shoulder.

Luna chuckled. "Glad to hear it." She opened her notebook to a page listed with her siblings' names and their vocal ranges. She jotted down Lucy's. "Alright, rock stars!" she announced. "Let's get back to practicing! We got two weeks left and we're still a long way from being ready!"

All agreed and returned to their respective bedrooms. Lincoln jogged down the stairs and out the door to meet up with Clyde to practice. Lynn, Lucy and Luna were the only ones left in the room. Luna looked back to her two younger sisters.

"You two got this?" she asked.

Lynn held up her copy of the lyrics. "We're on it!"

Luna shifted her eyes over to Lucy, catching a bashful nod from her. Giving a thumbs up, she closed their door and made her way to her room. Before she stepped in, she tapped on her phone's screen to make a call.

* * *

Jamie sat before a grand piano in the lit basement of his home. The basement was unusually large in size, which matched the size of his home perfectly. The ceiling domes lit the room. He enclosed himself in one section that took up nearly half of the basement. On one end was a solid wall while the rest were see-through glass built into them. Inside this room he was surrounded by tarps covering various sized equipment set against the one solid wall. The room became his safe haven as it was designed to keep in sound, especially his singing. Personal belongings sat on top of the piano; his phone, bottle water, a tablet, a box of tissues, and a small framed picture of his younger self holding a kitten in his arms. The kitten was white with brown, black and orange markings. The colored markings covered its upper face and ears like it was wearing a mask with some specs near the right side of its nose and bottom lip, all over the back like a cloak and on the outside of its legs.

Jamie played a slow and deep melody on the piano, taking his time. Every other moment, his eyes glanced over at the framed picture, only looking at the kitten. He opened his lips and softly sang the opening.

[(♫)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxQHi1QXboo)

"_Memories… Memories… How long can you stay… to haunt my days…?_"

He took a moment of pause before tapping the keys for the main score. As he played and sang, his gestures had purpose. It had pure emotion. Everything was felt with a slight discomfort. A lump sat in his throat, but he pushed himself to continue.

"_Twas not for talk of loving… Twas not for talk at all… So much ado about nothing… would be her only call... So much ado, my lover... So many games we played… Through many a fleeted summer... Through every precious day…_"

He looked at the picture again, his eyes eager to push something out. He held it back as best he could.

"_All dead, all dead... All the dreams we had… And I wonder why I still live on…_" He imagined the soft beat of a drum and cymbal and the gentle pluck of a bass guitar following up. "_All dead, all dead… And alone, I'm spared… My sweeter half instead all dead… and gone… all dead…_"

He swallowed his lump as his fingers froze over the piano keys, letting the last notes echo into nothingness. He let out a soft sniffle. His eyes watered. He let out a quick sharp breath, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

His phone on the piano buzzed and vibrated, sliding near the edge over the keys. With dried eyes, he picked up his phone and checked the caller ID. A warmth filled the temporary void in his heart. With a grin, he answered.

"Hey Luna."

_'_ _Hey! What's up, dude?'_

Jamie chuckled, enjoying the enthusiasm of Luna's raspy voice.

"Nothing much." he replied. "Just chilling at the piano, playing a key or two. How's practice going?"

_'__Why, it's utterly smashing, love!' _she said in a British accent just before returning to her own. _'Everyone's just about there with memorizing the lyrics! I called to see if you could come back over this weekend and get us going for the vocal practice.'_

"Sure! I'm free tomorrow if you guys don't have anything going on!"

_'_ _Cool! And just a heads up, Leni wants to measure you for your outfit.'_

"My outfit?"

_'_ _Yeah. She insists on making matching outfits for us when we play at Bangers & Mosh. She has a few ideas for our band design.'_

"Sounds fun." he laughed. "Speaking of Bangers, did you get us a gig yet?"

A tongue clicked from Luna's end. _'Not yet, but we're getting close. My roadie's got some connections with the manager. Hopefully we'll get the gig on Mom and Dad's love letter anniversary. Remember that it's May twenty-fifth. That's a Friday.'_

"Got it!"

_'__Hey Luna!' _a faint playful voice called from her phone._ 'I need to get your measurements!'_

_'__Be right there, Leni!' _Luna replied. She directed her attention back to Jamie. _'I gotta go, bro! See you tomorrow afternoon?'_

"You know it!"

The call ended, leaving Jamie almost jumping with excitement. That excitement was put to a halt with a low growl rumbling from his stomach. Time for a snack break. Slipping his phone into his pocket, he made for the door that was the only entry and exit from the enclosed room. He closed the door behind him and strolled through the next half of the room. In front of the glass windows was a large flat display covered in tarp. In fact, everything else in the other half were covered in tarps. Before going upstairs, he flipped down a red switch labeled **_In Use_** before flipping the switches to both rooms, turning off all lights.

He took the stairs and stepped out from the basement door into a narrow hallway. The stairs to the basement were right underneath the stairs leading to the second floor. He looked above the basement door to check the red lightbulb was turned off. And it was. Looking around, the whole interior of the house was white with an old-fashioned atmosphere. Jamie walked forward away from the door towards the living room on his right. To his left was a small open kitchen with a smooth and polished stone countertop and a built-in sink. Against the wall of the kitchen was the stove and oven that sat in between the white wooden drawers. On the opposite end was a stainless-steel refrigerator and an open serving pantry next to it. In the center was a small wooden table, matching in height with the stone countertop. On the wooden surface of the table was a basket of fruit and an empty glass container.

Jamie stepped into the kitchen to find his family's housemaid, Rosalita, washing and peeling potatoes. She wore a formal uniform with a maroon shade. Her rolled up cuffs and her collar colored in white, matching with the apron around her waist. A Latino woman in her mid-forties, she was good-looking compared to others at that age and had a well-toned build. Her medium wavy brown hair was tied back into a ponytail on most days. She was accommodated with a room upstairs, living with them while she worked. Her brown eyes caught Jamie in their sight, heading for the fridge.

"Good afternoon, Jameson." she greeted in a slight Spanish accent.

Jamie stopped in place with his hand on the fridge, letting out a soft chuckle. He turned to her with a humorous grin.

"Rosalita, I insist that you call me Jamie. That's what everybody else calls me by."

"Why?" she smirked, taking a peeler against a soaked potato. "I think it's a very formal name. Who knows? Maybe you'll start using it when you get older. A name like that might attract some pretty girls."

"I've got a long way before I choose to use that name again." Jamie laughed with a hint of red on his cheeks. He planned to take something from the fridge, but instead found something better to snack on: a green apple from the fruit basket. He snatched it from the wooden table and quickly soaked it under the running water from the sink. He dried it off with his shirt and took a bite.

"Oh. Your parents called ten minutes ago." Rosalita said. "They said to remind you about your piano recital coming up in a few weeks. They hope you've been practicing."

Jamie chewed thoroughly before swallowing bites of apple. "I've been juggling a few things; school work, other projects, but I have been practicing. They don't have to worry."

Rosalita chuckled. "I don't either, knowing how good you are. When I hear you play, it's like listening to Beethoven."

Jamie shrugged. "Eh… not exactly my cup of tea, but the recital people said it was required to play something classical. So Beethoven was the first guy I thought of." He took another bite of his apple as he walked off back to the basement. "I might as well go practice. Go ahead and mark down the day of the recital on the calendar."

Once he was out of sight, Rosalita dried off her hands and approached the calendar on the refrigerator door. Taking the red marker next to it, she wrote the notice in a small box and circled the whole thing. Within the large red circle, it read:

** _Friday, May 25_ ** ** _th_ **

** _Jameson's Piano Recital_ **


	6. Rendezvous in the Basement

"Okay. Like, hold still for just a_ little_ longer."

For the last ten minutes, Jamie stood on a short circular platform while Leni took measurements. She wrapped her measuring tape around his chest under his spread-out arms. She let go and squinted deeply at her clipboard before scribbling down small notes. A cloud of awkwardness hovered over Jamie as he stood on the platform for the Loud siblings to see while they relaxed on Lori and Leni's beds. To make things more awkward, he was without a shirt, exposing his bare torso. Leni insisted that he went shirtless to get precise measurements. A faint red stained his cheeks, being teased and flirted with by Lynn and the other older sisters. He looked scrawny with his shirt on, but without it, he had a decent build: average muscles, a slim abdomen, and little hair primarily around his sternum.

"Take it off!" Lynn said earlier, giving him a whistle when the shirt was off.

"You should invest in nudity," Luan added. "during the current _bare market_! Hahahahaha!" Jamie's eye twitched in a cringe while her siblings groaned in reaction. "Oh, come on! That was a good one!"

"Have you ever thought about going into modeling?" Leni asked, stretching her tape from Jamie's left shoulder down to his wrist. "You like, have the bod for it!" Her eyes lit as she let out a big gasp. "You should _totes_ model for swimsuits!"

"Chill, sis." Luna chimed in, chuckling. "Let's leave Jamie to his singing, right bro?"

"R-right…" Jamie replied, shivering to the measuring tape sliding down his waist and stopping just under his navel.

Lori rolled her eyes, scrolling through her phone to find a picture of her boyfriend in his lifeguard gear. Jamie was nothing compared to her Boo-Boo Bear. She bit her lip and let out a soft giggle.

Lincoln lowered his manga from his face with a disapproved glace towards his sisters. At least they weren't jumping all over the Queen fanatic like they did with his tutor Hugh last year.

Luna strummed lightly on her acoustic guitar, playing a soft and cool melody one would hear when trying on clothes at the mall.

Leni took a look at her clipboard and ran a finger down the list. "All done!" she exclaimed. "You can put your shirt back on." Lynn and Luan let out thwarted groans. And Jamie did so, much to his relief. "You guys are gonna _love_ what I have planned for _all_ of our outfits!" She sat at her sewing desk, drawing on her sketchpad.

"Wait, all of us?" Lincoln asked with raised brows. The rest of his sisters shared the same expression.

"Of course, silly!" Leni replied. "All of us should dress up for Mom and Dad! And I _totes_ had the best idea! While Jamie, Luna, Sam and Tabby have their matching outfits, the rest of us will have our own!" She stood from her chair and took a few steps towards the closet. Opening the door, she parted her hung clothes and reached her arms forward in between. Clumsily stepping back, she pulled out her only dress form from the closet. She brought it over to the short platform to show the design.

With every dress she planned out before mass producing it for her sisters, she made the first one to fit herself. Over the form was a formal short dress with a flared skirt that reached down to knee length. The color of the satin gown was sea foam green, matching Leni's usual wardrobe. Around the waist was a wide white sash with a large bow facing outwards at an angle on the left side. The V-neck of the dress was trimmed in white to match with the sash.

"So? What do you guys think?" Leni asked.

All glittering eyes couldn't bear to look away from such a radiant sight. Even Jamie admired the stunning dress, agreeing with Leni's idea in thought. Despite the approvals by most of the sisters, the kid plumber and the sports jock had their personal objections.

"Um… no offense Leni, but dresses aren't really my thing…" Lana replied, nibbling on some dog treats. "Don't get me wrong! I think the dress is awesome! It just feels weird not wearing pants…"

"I _kinda_ have to agree with Lana." Lynn said rather reluctantly. "I have a sporty image to uphold. What would people think if they saw Lynn Loud Jr. in a dress?"

Leni stood next to her dress silently with a small frown and averted eyes, obviously hurt from her sisters' remarks.

Lincoln sighed, putting down his manga. It was time to step up as the one and only brother once again. "Come on, you two." he started. His tone was gentle with a hint of firmness. "Leni worked really hard to come up with this dress. The least you could do is give it a chance. Plus, this is for Mom and Dad's special day. I know it's out of your comfort zones, but it's important that we all pitch in and do our parts."

Lana and Lynn looked at each other with mutual uncertainty, but Lana was the first to nod yes to the dress. Lynn was left to make the final answer. She let out a low groan.

"Ugh… fine, I'll wear the dress…"

Leni's face brightened up. Clapping her hands fast and jumping up, she let out a happy squeal.

"Eeeee! Yay! Thank you so much! I promise you're gonna, like, look gorgeous in these dresses!"

Lynn laid back on Lori's bed, still uncomfortable with the idea of wearing something with a skirt rather than pants.

"Question," Lucy said, raising her hand. "can I get mine in black?"

"Totes!" Leni replied. "I'll make these dresses in all of your colors! I'll get started right now!"

"Whoa there, Leni!" Luna called, stopping her sister from approaching her desk. "You can work on our outfits later. Right now, we gotta get some practice in. We only got a couple weeks before the big night, and we need all the time we can get! The last thing we need is Mom or Dad being around the house and finding out about this plan of ours!

"Take it easy, Luna." Lincoln said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "As long as Mom and Dad are busy with work, we'll be fine. Besides, there's no way one of them could just take time off for like, I don't know, the _whole_ summer."

Without missing a beat, the front door opened and closed from downstairs followed by a rush of footsteps coming up the stairs and towards the room. Popping in was Lynn Sr., catching all the kids off guard. Jamie only watched as Lincoln's words bit them all in the butt.

"Good news, kids!" their father announced. "Your old man's on sabbatical for the _whole_ summer! Looks like I'll be spending more time with you guys in the house! Isn't that great?!" The kids could only look at him with utter shock, sharing the same widened eyes and dropped jaws. Being the naive man he was, Lynn Sr. read their obviously horrified stares as ecstatic. "I know! I'm excited too! And to celebrate, I'll whip up a couple batches of my famous Lynn-sagna for tonight!" Before he made his exit, his eyes glanced over to Luna's house guest. The parents had only met Jamie briefly just as he would head out the door for the past week. "Hey there, Jamie! Listen, if you'll be staying a little longer, we would _love_ to have you join us for dinner! Now that I've given the good news, I'll just leave you kids to whatever you're doing!" With that, he shut the door and rushed down the stairs.

Jamie was left to figure out what the heck just happened. He turned to the Loud kids who were trying to process this sudden encounter. There was only one thing they could think to say.

"Dang it!"

"Well that crashed the party…" Luna groaned, beginning to strum a sad tune on her guitar. "So much for rehearsing…"

"What are we gonna do?" Lori asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is literally a disaster!"

"We won't be able to practice if Dad's going to be around for the next two weeks! And I worked _really_ hard on my perfect singing!" Lola complained.

"The solution's pretty obvious." Lincoln said. "We just have to find another place to practice. Somewhere Mom and Dad would _never_ know about."

"Yeah, but where?" Lynn asked. "There isn't exactly a lot of private places outside the house."

The Louds pondered in thought, leaving the room quiet with only Luna's guitar still playing.

"We could practice at my house."

The guitar was put to a screeching halt. The siblings jerked their heads in Jamie's direction to his suggestion, giving him uncomfortably attentive stares. A chill ran up his spine, mentally pummeled by their bulging yet lured eyes.

"Your place?" Lori asked.

"Why not?" Jamie replied with a small grin. "We would have plenty of space to practice. And it's in Huntington Oaks, so it's only a short ride there."

"Dude, that's perfect!" Luna exclaimed, grinning back. "Your folks won't mind, right?"

"That won't be a problem. They're not gonna be home for another couple of weeks. If you want, we could head over there right now just to show you around."

"I'm up for a trip!" Lynn said.

"Me too!" Lana added.

"Me three!" Lola raised her hand, following her twin sister's lead.

"Hold on there, you three. Let's not dive off the stage just yet." Luna chuckled, holding her open hand up. "I'll go with him to check out the place. Does that sound good with you, Jamie?"

"Definitely." he replied, giving two thumbs up.

Luna looked to her siblings. "I'll be back soon." She rose up from Leni's bed, made her way out the room and down the stairs with Jamie following behind.

"Hey Pops!" she called, approaching the front door. "Jamie and I are gonna go out for a bit!"

Lynn Sr. popped his head out from the kitchen, seeing them both near the door. "Okay kids, have fun! Make sure to be back before dinner! You'll be back to join us, right Jamie?"

"You got it, Mr. Loud!" Jamie replied with a wink. He stepped out with Luna holding the door for him. They rushed down the patio near the garage and mounted their bikes. With helmets on and their fingers wrapped around the handlebars, they were off.

* * *

The afternoon weather was perfect for their bike ride. The sun and clouds were kind to everyone who spent their day outside. The temperature wasn't too hot or too cold. It was just right. Luna stayed close behind Jamie as they cruised along the Huntington Oaks streets along the curb. In smooth flight, the warm gentle breeze smothered against their faces, blowing their loose hair and clothes back almost in waves like mature and golden barley out in the open plains.

Soon enough, they made it to the suburbs. For the last seven minutes of their ride through town, Luna felt a serene veil placed over her in the colors of the sun's merciful rays. It was as if the stresses of school, life at home, the lifestyle of a rock star, and rehearsals suddenly went away, leaving her to enjoy these laid-back moments. While her eyes glanced from one side to another to view the neighboring sceneries, her main attention was towards Jamie, still leading her to their new potential base of musical operations. Once in a while, he would turn his head back, checking if she was still close behind. And every time, he would show a smile before returning his glance forward. Luna was often too distracted to realize what a sweet toothy smile Jamie had. But while riding that day, she noticed it for the first time in the last two weeks she knew him on a personal level. It had given her a sense of ease. As the days went by, Luna got to know Jamie more and more during their time together at school and at the Loud house. When in public, he was a sensitive and compassionate boy, still a little too modest for his own sake. But when alone with her, he proved to be more passionate and open. He was no longer afraid to share his love for singing and his secret talent around her. Of course, she was the one who encouraged him step out of his self-conscious shell. Because of her, she saw more of his personality show. They both shared similar interests, one of them obviously being the love of rock music. And he seemed to get along with her siblings very well, only knowing them for a short time. A deeper curiosity lit her mind, however. A beckoning from her subconsciousness called her towards him. There seemed to be more about him than her eyes could tell. Was there more to him she had yet to know about? Would he tell her? _Could_ he tell her? Her questions were to be answered just around the corner.

Around the mentioned corner and a block over, Jamie and Luna cruised down alongside a grey stone wall that reached far enough to keep a big community within. Tall green cypress trees covered the walls in long rows. Luna couldn't help but admire the well-trimmed trees as they rode further down. Not too long after, Jamie applied the brakes to his bike and stopped with Luna doing the same, finally reaching to their second to last destination. Before them were iron gates hinged to thick brick pillars. Each one had an unlit lamp post on top. To the left was a small white gatehouse, and above the gates was a sign in large bold blue letters.

Luna looked at the sign with widened eyes and an unclamped jaw. She glanced over to Jamie who had a less prideful smile on his face, viewing the sign as well. As stunned as she was at this discovery, she was the first to speak.

"Dude! You live in Huntington Manor?!"

"Yeah." Jamie replied with his hands on his hips. The tone in his response was far from dignified. "You're probably thinking to yourself, 'Jamie, why here of all places? For a guy who loves the unpredictability and freedom to express oneself through Rock, and goes to public school, why live in a community full of snobbish wealthy folk?', am I right?" He glanced over to Luna, who was simply unphased from his reply. She caught him by surprise with a raspy laugh.

"Ha ha…! Sorry, Jamie." she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "That never crossed my mind at all. But since you mentioned it, I wouldn't mind knowing why."

"Basically," he shrugged. "My parents could afford it."

Before he could continue explaining, their conversation was cut short by a middle-aged man with a grey bushy moustache, stepping out from the gatehouse. He wore a dark grey sport coat with matching trousers, a cricket cap and a green tie.

"Excuse me, you two?" the man said, approaching the teens. "This is a private community. Unless one of you is a resident here, I'm afraid I can't let you in."

Jamie smiled and took off his glasses. "Relax, Wyatt. It's me."

Wyatt's eyebrows scrunched up, immediately recognizing the teen boy. "Oh! Master Jamie!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you there!"

Luna tilted her head. _Master Jamie…?_ she thought.

Jamie shook his head and chuckled. "It's okay. And you can drop the 'Master' bit. I'm not as important as everyone else here."

"Forgive me, sir." Wyatt replied, tilting his cap. "I will do my best to remember."

Jamie nodded and gestured over to Luna. "This is Luna. She's my guest for our short visit."

Luna greeted with an excited wave and a big smile.

Wyatt cracked an uncomfortable smile and reluctantly waved back, looking over the girl's attire. _Oh joy… another Rock music fanatic… _he thought. With a cleared throat and without any further delay, he pressed a button nearby and the iron gates opened up. "You two have a good day." he said.

"Thanks, dude!" Luna replied, before following Jamie close behind.

Huntington Manor was a large but quiet and sophisticated community. The houses within the walls were at least twice the size of Luna's. Strangely, they weren't as big as she expected. But the gated neighborhood was beautiful overall. Within the spring time, every house was surrounded by shades of bright green. The yards were always well managed and neatly cut short, and the bushes and trees were trimmed keeping from overgrowing.

The teens finally arrived to their destination. Sitting alongside the premier street and near the corner leading down to a cul-de-sac was Jamie's home: a two-story Cape Cod style house. When facing it from the front yard, there was the main two-story house with four large windows on both floors. The roof was slanted with asphalt shingles, and the top four windows stuck out from the dormers. On the left connecting to the main house was a one and a half floor garage with a single window above around the slanted roof. The cement driveway led to the small street of the cul-de-sac. On the right was a first floor indoor patio with framed glass windows to enjoy the views of both the front yard and the back yard. Above it were wooden railings all around, accessed by a single door on the side of the main house. Aside from the asphalt shingles on the roof and eaves, the exterior of the house was separated in two other materials: the first floor was built with brick while the second floor was built with clean white siding boards. From Luna's perspective, the house was as tall as hers, but three times wider.

She and Jamie pulled into the small driveway and parked their bikes just before the wooden garage doors. Dismounted, Jamie approached a small keypad in the corner and entered the home code. Sure enough, one of the doors slid upwards. Once inside, the made their way into the main section of the house. The short hall from the garage led the two into the kitchen. Luna couldn't help but explore the open and spacious interior of the first floor, checking out the living room while Jamie settled in and popped open the fridge.

"Brah! You are a lucky guy to have a crib like this!" she exclaimed, looking out from the living room window, kneeling on the couch. Jamie sat down next to her with two bottles of water in his hands, giving her one while joining her to look out at the scenery over his shoulder.

The backyard was beautifully landscaped, surrounded by closed fences with a white shed sitting to the side. The only access to the yard was the double doors close by, the door from the indoor patio, and the thin iron gates that sat on both sides of the house. Before them was a blue stone patio with a wooden table and four chairs. Five feet away from the table were two other chairs around a small round brazier. The yard was big enough to fit Luna's family times three.

"It has its ups and downs, but you ain't seen nothin' yet." Jamie implied, showing a very smug grin. "I haven't even shown you the best part."

"Is it your room?" Luna asked.

"Better."

Without another word, Jamie led Luna down the hall near the front entryway. They approached a door under the stairs to the second floor. Opening it, a flight of stairs led them down into the basement. "Down here is where I do all of my piano practice and singing without any disturbance." Jamie said, carefully stepping down, blinded by the dark. Once their feet were planted firmly on the main floor of the basement, Jamie reached over to three switches by the stairs. He flicked all three at the same time.

Luna covered her eyes as all the lights went on in the basement simultaneously. Adjusted to the lights after a moment, she finally saw what was down there. She let out an audible gasp as her eyes widened. She brought her hands up to her mouth, but it wasn't enough to cover the big toothy grin she had. Tears formed near the edges of her eyes, but not enough to run down her cheeks. Her body trembled in pure bliss, as if being presented the best gift she had ever gotten in her sixteen years. Jamie smiled proudly, showing off his favorite room of the house, his sanctuary:

A professional recording studio.

Jamie stayed close behind as Luna walked forward, trying to take in everything to the best of her ability. At the moment, both teens were in the control room of the studio. On the other side was the live room, separated by a wall with a long window that stretched across. Next to it was a door a few feet away. Covered by a hardwood floor, the control room's equipment near the window was covered in tarps and dust, indicating they hadn't been used for quite some time. But alongside the walls near and surrounding the glass were giant loudspeakers that reached up to the ceiling and shelves of various electronics and other equipment, things Luna couldn't even dream of owning one day. She approached the shelves and analyzed everything presented before her.

"I-I can't believe it…" she muttered, overwhelmed to use her normal raspy voice. "Y-you have everything here: digital pre-amplifiers… power amplifiers… multitrack recorders… studio monitors…" She knelt down to view the electronics on the lower shelves. "You even have compressors and equalizers…"

This was a Rock star's paradise. One would never want to leave a studio and spend hours and hours making and recording their own music. Luna then approached the glass window and peeked into the live room. There sat a grand piano and other equipment covered in tarps.

"That's where most of our instruments are kept: the guitars, keyboards, drums, etc." Jamie said, approaching the long tarp covered display before Luna and the glass. "We also keep the amps, the microphones, the music stands, headphones, and the tri-fold sound walls in there as well."

Luna jerked her head at Jamie with disbelief written all over her face. She quickly noticed his hands leaning against the display that separated the two. Her eyes were as wide as ever and her jaw was dropped even further, almost to the verge of near dislocation.

"I-is that what I think it is…?" she asked, pointing to the covered display.

With another smug grin, Jamie stepped away, letting her come around and gain access. Unable to hold her excitement back, Luna grabbed the tarp with both hands and pulled back slowly. The weight of the tarp fell to the floor to reveal its hidden treasure. Luna let out another but louder gasp.

"NO! FREAKIN'! WAY!"

Sitting before them was a large mixing console that stretched well over seven feet across. On top of the console were two goose-neck microphones, hanging over the several dozen channel input strips. To Jamie, the console was just another piece of equipment, but to Luna, it was more than that. With her expert knowledge of instruments and equipment, it was no ordinary console. "You have a Solid State Logic SL4000G+ mixing console?! With seventy-two channels?! This is the best one in the series for mixing Rock music!"

Jamie chuckled, watching and savoring Luna's excitement. He leaned his finger over to the power button and pressed it. He smile grew bigger as she let out shrieks of delight to see it up and running. Overwhelmed by the overall surprise of the console and studio, Luna fell back into one of the swivel chairs, struggling to keep her composure. She attempted to make full sentences, but kept stopping herself short.

"Dude!" she cried. "This is-! I can't-! How the-! Why the-!" She stopped herself the moment Jamie raised a hand.

"I know what you're thinking:" he started. "'Where did you get all of this stuff?' And to answer your question, everything you see here came with the house."

"SHUT! UP!" Luna exclaimed in total disbelief, stars glittering in her eyes.

Jamie jumped from her abrupt response, but laughed it off. "I'm not kidding! This house once belonged to a musician who did a lot of his own recordings. The name of the guy escapes me, but when he sold the house to my parents, he said they could keep everything that was down here. The guy was old and retiring anyways, so he thought my parents could make some good use of it someday. At least I put it to some good use."

At this point, Luna was beyond ecstatic. The fact that her friend had a big recording studio in his basement continued to be a major shock. It was too good to be true. But there she was, sitting in a chair, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of expensive sound and recording equipment.

"I-I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it is just being here!" Luna said, slowly getting her composure together. She placed a hand over the surface of the console and stroked it in admiration. She bit her lip hard and quivered from the touch. "I'm super jello right now!"

Jamie smiled as he took a seat next to her in the other swivel chair. "So what's your verdict? Are we a 'go' with having the rest of our rehearsals here?"

"Hell yeah we are!" Luna replied, raising a fist above her head. "This is _too_ perfect to pass up!"

"Glad to hear it!" Jamie leaned back into his chair, closed his eyes and took a deep relaxing sigh. Opening them up again, he glanced over to Luna, helping herself get in touch with the console and the other equipment. Reading that big smile of hers, she was enjoying every second of it. He couldn't help but feel proud of how well and far things have gotten between them. Before he properly met her, he was a nervous wreck about sharing his hidden voice to others, too worried about being mocked once again just like in middle school. His first encounter with her wasn't exactly pleasant, but it helped him open up to another person in such a long time. Through her, he realized his voice was a blessing and not to be mocked or taken for granted. With her help, along with her siblings and her friends, he never felt more confident about his voice. Now he was helping her get ready to perform for her parents. They were getting closer and closer to the big day, and he wasn't planning to back out. He was going to see this with her to the end. But would it really be there end? After the upcoming performance, what then? Would they continue to hang out and jam, or would they go their separate ways and continue their lives independently? Jamie had other friends at school, but he never had a true friend. No. A best friend, until that fateful day he met Luna Loud.

"Listen, Luna…" he said, getting her attention. "Once we're finished with this whole 'singing for your parents' thing, I was wondering if you would like to keep coming over? Hang out down here."

Luna stared at him with highlighted eyes and a slightly dropped lip. Butterflies fluttered and beat their wings against the insides of her stomach in response to his suggestion. Before she could say anything, something caught her throat, struggling to keep her eyes from pushing something out.

"Y-you mean I could use this studio to…" She swallowed hard. "… play and record music…?"

He nodded fast with a gentle smile. "Of course. You've done so much for me, I'd really like to return the favor. Not only am I helping you perform for your parents, I'd be more than happy to let you use the studio. This whole place would at your disposal. And to be honest…" He let out an embarrassed chuckle. "I don't even know how to use most of this equipment, so maybe you could show me how they work. And if you're interested, perhaps we could work on some projects together. We can invite Sam and Tabby over so all of us can play together and record music. What do you think?"

Luna couldn't hold it back any longer. Everything she heard was almost too made up, but he was there, right in front of her, telling it all. The lump in her throat was too much to handle as a quick sob escaped from her growing smile. Her eyes were overwhelmed by the ceaseless tears running down her perfectly freckled cheeks. Her vision grew blurry, only seeing a soggy image of Jamie as if looking at him through water. No words could describe how grateful she was to have a friend like him. Not only was he helping her fulfill her mother's shattered dream, but he was giving her the opportunity to take a greater step in making her music career a reality. How would one react to such a selfless act of generosity? She could only think of one way. Without warning, she lunged forward from her chair and landed herself on Jamie, pushing them both back on his rolling chair until they were halted by the wall.

Jamie couldn't do much. Luna hugged her arms around his neck tightly and her chest was pressed up firmly into his. He remained still with hover hands, catching the sounds of her quiet sniffles.

"Y-you're too awesome…" she whimpered, her wet cheek smothered into his. "You know that…?"

Jamie let out a shuddering breath, exposed and dumbfounded. He didn't know how to reply. This kind of affection from a girl was new territory. He never expected someone like Luna to cry, being an outgoing and strong-willed person. Even Rock stars probably had their emotional moments. Proceeding with caution, he lowered his hover hands and carefully wrapped his arms around her back. His hug wasn't as tight as hers around his neck, but enough to hold her close and return the affection. A small smile grew on his face as he let out a soft sigh.

"Is that a bad thing?" he chuckled. Against his cheek, he felt her shake her head. He gave her back tender strokes up and down, quickly earning a tighter hug from her.

They remained in their warm embrace for a while longer until Luna received a text from her father, telling her to come home soon for dinner. She pulled herself together from her short emotional trip, wiping eyes and blowing noses. Jamie stayed true to his word to join her family for the evening. With one last hug, they shut down the studio for the day. More excited than ever, both teens were eager to return to the studio with thirteen more guests during the following week and continue their project without any more bumps on the road. Lucy was right; the future looked bright for the two music-lovers… but would it last?


	7. Throwing Down the Gauntlet

Since the reveal of the recording studio in Jamie's basement, Luna wasted no time informing her siblings and her friends about their new base of operations. At first, their reactions were shocked and full of disbelief, never once expect Jamie to be from Huntington Manor, but he spoke true while over at their house for dinner. At that point, they were more excited than ever.

With only two weeks left to rehearse, they needed to seize every chance they got. Tabby, Sam, and Clyde could make it there with no problem. The Louds, however, had to take extra precautions. With their parents being the ones they would perform for on their first date anniversary, the kids going out as a group would normally stir up questions by either parental figures when trying to meet up with the others, often being asked where they would be going. The siblings had no desire to deceive their parents, but it was for a good cause. The lie they answered with most was to spend more time together, just the siblings. It wasn't a lie, per se, since they _would_ be together, but giving a false destination was the true lie. Either the park, the mall, the movies, anywhere that would occupy the siblings for a few hours at the latest.

"The way I see it," Lincoln had said earlier within the first week. "we're just telling half a lie, so we'll only feel half bad about it." His nine sisters couldn't have agreed more.

With each trip to Huntington Manor, they carpooled with Clyde, Tabby, and Sam, despite how cramped Vanzilla was, going over the maximum occupancy. To avoid any awkward confrontations with the gatekeeper, Jamie rode his bike up to meet the group at the gates and escorted them back to his house. It was no surprise for everyone but Luna to share awed eyes and astonished gasps at their first visit to the house, but they were more astounded by the recording studio in his basement, especially by Sam and Tabby. Everyone worked together to rearrange the studio to make room for the instruments needed for their rehearsals and for themselves. Luna and Sam only brought their guitars since the recording studio had the rest of the equipment. Jamie, providing as the band's lead pianist, lead vocalist and temporary conductor for the chorus, oversaw the project as Luna's second-hand.

Everything was set, and the real work was about to begin.

* * *

_Thursday, May 24th _

Rosalita dusted the living room, once in a while catching a glance out the clear glass backdoors to a beautiful late afternoon that settled over the backyard. The spring leaves on every tree were caressed by the gentle breeze like a loving mother and her child. The leaves remained attached to their branches with strong and deep stems. It was a perfect day to go on a walk, or at the least, relax outside. The thought appeared in her head several times, but her reaction was always the same: a returning glace over to the basement door with the red bulb above brightly lit. There was no doubt in her mind Jamie was hard at work with his new friends. The first time he brought them over two weeks ago was quite a surprise; ten of them being siblings ranging from ages four to eighteen with such wild and independent personalities. At first, Rosalita had growing concerns about having so many kids at the house all at once being the only adult to watch them, with the exception of Lori to help keep her siblings in check. However, she was assured that their visits would take place down in the basement for most of the day, being let in on their project for the Loud's parents. Reluctantly, she welcomed them warmly and was available if they needed anything: snacks, drinks, etc. Perhaps it was for the best though. As far as she knew, Jamie had no friends within the walls of Huntington Manor, so this was a nice change of pace for the boy. With that thought in mind, she eventually warmed up to them within the last two weeks, now more than happy to have them over.

Her thoughts were halted the moment she caught the red bulb switching off, followed by a thunder of footsteps making their way up the steps. She continued to dust as the basement door opened, the kids coming out and speaking over each other in thrilled and ecstatic clamoring, each having accomplished and proud grins. Luna and Sam carried up their guitar cases, indicating it was time for everyone to head out, but not before gathering in the kitchen to hang out for a few minutes more.

"Awesome job, everyone!" Luna said with a hand horn raised high, stepping around the counter and grabbing a water bottle. "We've worked really hard these last two weeks. You put all of your best efforts in getting to this point, and I'm happy to say that we're ready! It's gonna be a night Mom and Dad will never forget!" She raised her bottle. "To their first date anniversary!"

"Cheers!" The kids exclaimed, raising their bottles as well before guzzling them down.

"Thank you so much for letting us practice here, Jamie." Lori gasped from her drink, wiping water from her lips. "You're literally a lifesaver."

"I still can't believe you had a recording studio in your house all this time!" Tabby squealed.

"It's no problem!" Jamie replied with a contenting smile. "I'm more than happy to let you guys use it! I just hope you won't get in trouble lying to your parents."

"Don't worry." Lincoln grinned, popping a grape into his mouth. "Being the master of convincing, they've yet to suspect a thing. We'll tell them the truth after the show. I'm sure they'll understand." He turned to his friend, who was helping himself to some carrot sticks. "So Clyde, you think you're ready for this?"

"You bet!" Clyde replied. "I let my dads in about this little surprise, if that's okay. They promised not to tell anyone. They're going to be at the restaurant to watch us perform!"

"We gonna rock da house!" Lynn howled, looping her arms around the boys' necks. "I can't wait to see the look on Mom and Dad's faces! Who do you think's gonna cry first? I bet it'll be Mom!"

"I always found Dad to be the more emotional of the pair." Lucy answered, writing in her little book. "He seems to cry more times than Mom."

"I'm going to have to agree with Lynn here." Lisa said, adjusting her glasses. "Our maternal parental unit has the stronger emotional attachment to the late Queen front man. When she hears our song and Jamie's voice, it will trigger past memories of her listening to Mercury in her youth. Her emotional state will become so overwhelming, she will be the one to secrete the mixture of water, oil, and mucous from her eyes first."

"Ew!" Lola cried, her face crunched up in disgust. "That's what our tears are made of?! Gross!"

"That's not gross! That's awesome!" Lana stepped in, munching on a thrown-out apple core.

Lori rolled her eyes at the nearby conversation, turning her attentions towards her Rocker sister. "So Luna, what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"Okay, thanks to Chunk, we got a gig for the evening." Luna replied. "Sam, Tabby and I are scheduled to play from five to eight-thirty. Mom and Pops' reservations are set for seven, right?"

"You know it." Lori grinned.

"Perfect! We'll be saving our performance for last. You guys get there at about eight and wait for us in the parking lot. As soon as Jamie shows up, the four of us will get into our outfits and you guys will come up to join us!"

"I can't wait!" Leni squealed, clapping her hands rapidly.

While the kids mingled in the kitchen, Rosalita dusted the framed pictures hanging on the walls down the hall near the front door. She then heard a car's engine purr close by from outside. Peeking out the window, she spotted a taxi parked in front of the house by the curb. There was no doubt in her mind who it was, or in this case, who _they_ were. The driver stepped out first, making his way towards the trunk, propping it open and taking out two large suitcases. The rear car door facing the house was pushed outwards, and the second to step out was a slim man in his early forties, standing at least six feet with short, neatly combed faint brown hair, wearing a pair of grey trousers and a navy-blue polo shirt. He took a good look at the house with a smile across his dimpled face as he let out a sigh of relief. He turned back to the car and reached his hand in, taking a more slim and feminine hand. Being guided out of the taxi was a thin woman about the same age as the man, a few inches shorter than him in height wearing a pair of glasses with rectangular lenses. Her straight brunette hair was put in a basic chignon. The clothes she wore consisted of black high-rise leggings and a tucked in cream short sleeved blouse. The couple held each other close before locking a quick kiss. With their big grins, they seemed to be more than happy to be home. They received their luggage from the driver and waved him off. With the taxi cruising down the road, the couple took their first steps towards the house, eager to say hello to their son. Rosalita moved herself away from the window and rushed into the kitchen, giving Jamie a quick tap on the shoulder.

"Guess who's back?" she grinned.

Jamie turned to the housemaid with widened eyes and an inaudible gasp. "Mom and Dad?" he asked. Receiving a nod from Rosalita, he turned to the others who had heard the surprising news, looking to him in silence as if waiting for new orders. They then heard muffled keys rustling from the opposite side of the front door and a loud click from the dead bolt. Jamie and Rosalita left the kitchen to greet his parents while Lori looked to her siblings and took on her role as the sister in charge.

"Alright everyone, we're about to meet Jamie's parents." she started with a hint of authority in her tone. "And that means all of you be on your best behavior. Got it?"

"Relaaax, sis!" Lana replied with a laidback smile and half-closed eyes. "We got this!" The benefit of doubt Lori gave her little sister quickly dissolved the moment the child mechanic let out a belch. Lori took a deep straining breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Jamie stood before the door as it opened, being the first person his parents saw coming in. Once all three made eye contact, he made the first move: stepping forward and pulling his mother and father into a three-way hug.

"Welcome home!" he exclaimed, his arms clutched around their necks.

Feelings of the reunion were well mutual as both parents held their son close with the warmth of their fond embrace fluttering around them. His mother couldn't help both smother kisses to Jamie's forehead and ruffle his slightly messy hair.

"I hope you weren't too lonely while we were away, sweetheart…" she said, unable to hide a slight frown. Her son gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Mom." He shook his head. "I don't mind at all. I know how important these trips of yours are, so I'm used to being here by myself." The housemaid cleared her throat, her presence taken notice by the young pianist. Jamie blushed and shrugged his shoulders. "W-well, I had Rosalita to keep me company..."

"Ohhh, you're so understanding…" his mother muttered in a soft voice, pulling him into a personal hug.

The father looked to the mother-son bond with a smile of content before approaching Rosalita. "How are things here, Rosalita?"

"Very good, Alan. Things have been more… lively here recently." she replied with a quiet chuckle.

"Oh, yes." Alan said, turning back to his son with a sly smirk. "Rosalita tells me you've been having some friends over and doing some work down in the studio. Is that right?"

Jamie bit his lip and nodded with an averted grin. "Yeah, I have." he replied, twirling his index fingers together. "We've been working on a project together, so we put the studio to good use. They're in the kitchen right now, and I'd like you to meet them before they go."

"We would love to meet them." his mother smiled sweetly. "Rosalita, would you mind taking our bags upstairs?"

"Not at all, Marie." the housemaid replied, taking both suitcases up the steps.

Rosalita briefly kept in touch with both parents about the friends Jamie would often invite to the house, but she never specified how many there were. Alan and Marie stepped into the kitchen, only to pause in their movements, stumbling upon thirteen young individuals.

"Oh my!" Marie gasped.

Jamie entered from behind, catching a glimpse of what looked to be a deadlock between the two parties. His parents analyzed the thirteen young guests standing around the counter, staring back at them. The first thing they noticed were their clothes: an obvious sign that they weren't from their neck of the woods. Living in Huntington Manor for well over twenty years, neither Alan nor Marie once thought they would be hosts to no one else but the residents of their high-class community, especially to young children and adolescents from the outside. Of course, deep in the back of their minds, they knew this day would come, considering Jamie went to public school and was bound to bring over a friend sometime after all these years. Needless to say, both parental figures were baffled by this discovery, their facial muscles urging them to smile, much to their slight discomfort. The kids returned the same gesture. Neither side said a word, as if the situation wasn't awkward enough. This stalemate lasted for another fifteen seconds before Leni broke the silence with her usual naivete.

"Wait, are we having a staring contest? I thought we were gonna say hello." she said, putting a finger to her chin and raising a brow.

Jamie quickly stepped in and cleared his throat to make introductions, but Luna stepped forward and took the wheel, saving him the trouble.

"It's really cool to meet you, Mister and Missus Maverick!" she started, shaking both their hands. "I'm Luna, these are my friends, Tabby and Sam." The two rock girls waved their hands. "And over here are my brother and my eight sisters." The Louds smiled and waved as well.

"And this is my friend, Clyde." Lincoln added, pulling his best friend close.

"Nice to meet ya!" Clyde grinned.

Alan and Marie glanced at one another before breaking into a small fit of laughter. "That _does_ explain the younger kids being here!" Alan said, his laughter dissolving into a chuckle.

"Sorry if we made things a little awkward…" Lori cracked a smile, nervously rubbing the back of her neck.

"There's no need to apologize, dear." Marie giggled. "We just didn't expect Jamie to have so many friends with such a wide age range."

"Well, I don't know if all of us are as close of friends like he is with Luna." Lori chuckled. "But anyways, Jamie tells us you two were away on a business trip."

"Indeed." Alan replied, wrapping an arm around Jamie's shoulders. "We just spent a month in London giving lectures at their music schools."

"Aw! Lucky!" Luna, Sam and Tabby whined.

"My wife and I are professors at the University of Michigan. I teach music theory while she teaches historical musicology."

"Ohhh! Looks like music _does_ run in the family after all!" Luna said, teasingly jabbing an elbow into Jamie's arm.

"Yes. Our boy's a little music prodigy." Marie smiled widely. "All of you must've heard him on the piano while you were over. Isn't he amazing?"

"C'mon, Mom…" Jamie muttered, rubbing his arm as his cheeks turned crimson. A few snickers were made, Lynn and Lana being the sources of the noise.

"Totally!" Clyde replied.

"One of the best we've seen!" Sam implied.

"This mate really rocks on the keys, don't he?" Tabby asked.

"He does." Alan replied, letting out a sigh. "Normally, we prefer the elegant and solemn classics on the piano. I don't know where he gets his rock vibe from these last ten years, but we let him play whatever he wants. If he likes whatever the kids are into these days, then it's fine with us."

"All we ask of him is to play some Beethoven, Mozart, and other beautiful pieces for us every once in a while." Maria added, patting Jamie's shoulder, catching a contented smile from him.

"Speaking of the piano," Alan said. "Jamie, I hope you've been practicing for your recital. You feel ready?"

"You bet I am!" Jamie replied, turning to his parents. "I still have plenty of time to practice, anyways. Trust me, when I take that stage next week, you'll hear nothing but Beethoven!"

Alan and Marie's smiles suddenly dropped, looking at their son with much puzzlement. They glanced to each other and back to him. Something wasn't right.

"Uh, Jamie…" Marie started, her giddy tone now diminished into concern. "The recital's tomorrow night."

It was as if Jamie, the Louds and their friends were suddenly hit with a blanket of snow. They all felt their blood run cold that moment, especially Luna's as she felt a sudden tightness squeeze her chest. The kids looked at each other, and much like Jamie's parents, their smiles dropped as well, all the while Jamie stared at his parents blankly. That wasn't true… was it?

"N-no, it isn't…" Jamie stammered, trying to keep a positive grin.

"Yes, it is." Marie said.

Jamie's smile was cracking. Still sure of himself, he shook his head. "No. It isn't."

"Yes. It is." Alan nodded, speaking firmly.

Jamie's eyes grew wider. His smile had fallen. Beads of sweat started to roll down his face. He gave it one last chance and shook his head, hoping his parents were only joking. "No, it isn't…"

"Hey, it looks like there is one tomorrow, or at least it says so here." Everyone's eyes turned to Lana who stood in front of the fridge and staring up at a calendar stuck to the freezer door.

Jamie rushed over and snatched the calendar from the fridge, staring at it deeply. His eyes looked as if they were about to bulge out, his breath taken from him. Silently and in great disbelief, he caught sight of the big red circle around a specific date and the words written within:

** _Friday, May 25th_ **

** _Jameson's Piano Recital_ **

"No…" he said. "No no no no no! This can't be right!" Before everyone, Jamie was in a near panic, the pacing of his breath quickened while his eyes glanced all around the kitchen in random directions. Soon enough, this news eventually reached to the kids, all sharing the same fear. "I thought it was next week!" he exclaimed, finally looking back to his parents.

"I'm sorry to say that isn't." his father said. "Is that an issue?"

"It is!"

"How so?"

"Because he's supposed to be playing with us tomorrow!" Luna stepped in, her eyes filled with worry and fading hope. "That's why we've been over here for the last two weeks! For almost a month, he's been practicing with us so we can perform for our parents' first date anniversary tomorrow! He's part of our show!"

Jamie's parents glanced to each other once again, only shaking their heads with the same mindset. "Kids," Marie looked to them with a small frown. "I'm afraid Jamie won't be able to perform with you tomorrow."

"_WHAT?!_" the kids exclaimed in horrific unison, startling Alan and Marie.

"But you don't understand!" Luan said with pleading eyes. "We need him!"

"Yeah! He's literally the key to our show!" Lori added.

"We can't do it without him!" Lincoln implied.

"You can't just pull him from our band!" Lola whined, stomping her foot. "It's not fair!"

"I'm sorry." Alan said, raising a hand. His voice grew sterner and more assertive. "But he needs to be at this recital. If he did forget, then needs to realize his mistake, no matter how hard it hurts him. He should've thought about this before joining your little showboat. He'll just have to go on without you."

Instead of a blanket of snow falling on the kids with a massive chill, Alan's last remark hit them hard like a wrecking ball, knocking and tearing them down internally. They could only stare at Jamie's parents in disbelief and dismay as their bodies reacted simultaneously: hearts racing, uncomfortable pressure in their chests, stomachs twisted in knots, bottom lips dropped and widened trembling eyes. It was no use. His parents weren't going to budge. How could they do the show without him? He was the reason why they started their little project in the first place. Without him and his magic voice, their performance wouldn't be as important to the Loud's parents, especially their mother, who had hoped to hear the voice of Freddie Mercury sing for her. But without Jamie, that dream of hers would never be fulfilled, leaving that part of her heart empty forever.

Luna, out of them all, was taking it the worst. It was as if her world was falling apart right before her eyes, going into a near panic herself. It felt like a knife was stuck in her heart, ready to twist and finish her. Jamie wouldn't abandon her at her time of need. He couldn't. He promised he would be there.

"B-But! But! Jamie!" she cried, getting his attention for a moment before turning back to his parents.

"Doing this show means a lot to them and to me!" Jamie pleaded. "Can't I just play at another recital? Is this one really that important?"

"It's too important to pass up, honey." Maria replied. Her voice was softer than her husband's but had that hint of assertion. "This recital could determine your future. And you agreed to be there. You're not missing this."

"But I made a promise I would perform with _them_!" he added, gesturing an arm towards his friends. "I can't back out now!"

Alan crossed his arms, looking to his son with a disapproving glare, finally putting his foot down. "And you can't back out of this recital either." he started. "Young man, there's no point in arguing with us any longer. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but you should've thought this through, and I'm afraid it's on you for forgetting the date. You'll have to break your promise to your friends. Do you understand?"

Jamie couldn't look up at his father any longer, overpowered by his dominant stare. Lowering his head, he could feel the unbearable weight upon his shoulders. He was pinned down. He was cornered. He couldn't fight back anymore. At this point, he was given no choice. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists tightly as the storm within his mind brewed and clashed. With one final glance, he looked over to his friends, noticing their desperate and tormented eyes. Submitting to his father's final words, he looked away from everyone and unfurled his fingers. And from his lips came out a word he would ultimately regret uttering.

"Yes…"

For a moment, the kitchen was filled with horrified gasps by the kids. He had done it. Jamie had given in. While the rest of the kids were left shocked and crushed, Luna was left devastated. She clenched her trembling fists and grit her teeth to the point of hurting her gums. She stared at the floor, struggling to hold back the anger and tears. For a minute, she raised her eyes to Jamie. He kept his back to them, unable to work up the nerve to face them. He was a dog with his tail stuck between his legs. He never felt smaller. Luna needed to do something. As appalled as she was towards his parents, her brewing emotions were all towards their son. She needed to confront him.

"Guys…" she said to the others. Her raspy voice almost was almost to the point of cracking. "C-could you wait outside by Vanzilla…? I need to talk to Jamie alone…"

Luan was the first to respond, carefully reaching a hand to her sister's shoulder. "But Luna-"

"Go!" the Rockstar snapped, shooting an anguished glare at her. The same was given to everyone else.

Luan took a quick startled breath, recoiling back slightly with her head shrugged into her shoulders. She covered her mouth as the knots in her stomach twisted further, unable to avert her gaze from her sister's. Being Luna's roommate and closest sister most of their lives, Luan knew when her sister was suffering. Her eyes showed it all: the anger, the sorrow, and the heartbreak. Finally breaking eye contact, Luan bit her bottom lip, rubbed her arm and took a soft sniffle. "O-okay… Come on, guys…"

The kids silently followed Luan out of the kitchen, each glancing over to Jamie as they passed by. They were clueless as to what to think of him at this point. Sam took her exit last, picking up hers and Luna's guitar cases on her way out. Only Jamie, his parents, and Luna were left in the kitchen. The two teens desired to speak alone without Alan and Marie caught in the crossfire. Before Luna could say anything, Jamie was the first speak.

"The live room…" he muttered before walking off. Luna was quick to follow behind as they made their way into the basement, leaving his parents alone with their own thoughts of the matter. The walk down was silent and awkward, their soft footsteps acting as their only source of sound. Jamie kept his eyes straight forward with his hands buried deep in his pockets, afraid to look back to Luna. No words were exchanged within the dark control room as they approached the still lit live room. Jamie stepped in first, leaving Luna to come in last. She closed the door rather softly, despite the storm that was brewing inside her. With the door shut, their talk couldn't escape. Jamie took a deep audible breath before turning around. Luna's back faced him with her hand still on the knob. "Listen Luna, I-"

"Save it!" Luna barked. Turning around, Jamie's body twitched upon seeing Luna's teeth grit together and listening to her heavy breaths. Her eyes shot daggers as tears hung over the edges. "What the hell was that?! How could you do this to us?! To _me_?!

Jamie quivered before her, his eyes struggling to avert from her bitter gaze. As hard as he tried to keep his own emotions in check, that barrier was already crumbling. "You think I wanted this to happen?!" he asked hotly. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm just as upset about this as you are!"

"Dude! How could you not know your recital was gonna to be tomorrow night?!"

"I didn't! I thought it was next week, but it turns out it's not! And I'm paying for it! So don't think you're the only one hurt by this!"

"Oh, well that's just _perfect_!" Luna growled, taking a few steps towards him, making him fall back on his piano bench. "You're really gonna pick a stupid recital over our show?! We can't do it without you! You're the reason why we're doing this in the first place!" Hovering over him, she roughly ran her fingers back through her hair, letting out frantic shudders. "This was going to be a present for my parents! For my mom! We were finally going to give her the anniversary she always wanted!"

Jamie sat himself up. "You think I don't know that?! Believe me, I want to do this show! I really do!"

"Then stand up to your parents! Don't let them tell you what you can or can't do!"

"You heard them! They're not going to let me off the hook! Plus, I agreed to go to the recital a while back before you and I met! They never forget stuff like this!"

"So you're just going to give in?!" By this time, Luna was close to a break down. Her stomach twisted more than ever and her mind was going a blur as her emotions began to take over. "W-without you, the show isn't going to mean anything!" She hiccuped. "I-I don't know what we'll do if you're not there!"

She reached forward and grabbed his hand, cupping it within her fingers. She leaned forward close to his face. No longer were her deep brown eyes filled with anger, but was replaced with desperation, trembling before his gaze. The tears hanging over the edges finally let go. Mixed with her eyeliner, black streaks ran down her reddening cheeks like a painting left under an endless rain. "Please…" she begged, her voice hoarse and broken as she let out a shuddering breath. "Please don't do this… We need you, Jamie…! _I_ need you…!"

It was unbearable to watch, but Jamie couldn't look away for that minute. He never thought he would've gotten this far with Luna Loud, a girl who found him by chance that day after school. It was thanks to her and her unconditional support, he worked up the courage to open up and share his unique voice with her, her siblings, and her friends. It was Luna that pulled him out from that self-placed isolation. It was Luna that got his back when he needed her. She committed so much of her time to help him fight his anxiety, he had to return the favor. When her plan to sing for their parents on that Friday night was announced, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. It was an owed favor and the next step to treating his anxiety. The last two weeks had been amazing. He enjoyed every minute of them playing and singing together. With many rehearsals in the studio, they finally perfected the beautiful piece of Queen. But because of one mistake, the last month of music and pleasure was falling apart before him. He was now paying the price for his unintentional negligence. And the price was going to be his broken promise to Luna, the girl he was proud and happy to call his best friend, his bandmate, and a great and talented musician. His soul slowly ate away with every word that escaped from his lips.

"I have no choice… I can't…"

[(♫)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVgixOjGhVU)

The knife in Luna's heart finally twisted. The world before her finally crumbled. Her blood ran cold. She could only stare at Jamie with widened and broken eyes as tears continued to run down her cheeks. Her hands went limp, loosening their grip and dropping his hand back into his lap. Jamie could only watch as she took a few steps back as she let out a few gasps, as if she couldn't breathe. Her brows narrowed down. The warmth in her eyes had disappeared.

"So that's it…?" she wept weakly. "After everything we've done together… after all the work we put into this show and helping you with your singing anxiety, you're just…" She sniffled. "gonna drop out… just like that…?"

Jamie couldn't take it anymore. With one movement, he hugged his chest and turned his head away, ashamed to look at her. "I'm sorry…"

Blinded by her hot tears, Luna roughly wiped them away, letting out a blend of sobs and coughs. With her sight clear again, she gave Jamie one final glace, one filled with returning anger, pain, but worst of all… betrayal.

"Fine…! D-do what you want! I don't… *hic* I don't care anymore!" With those final heart wrenching words, she stomped out from the studio and up the stairs.

Jamie was left to dwell in his self-inflicted grief as he heard Luna's sniffles and footsteps fade away, reaching the top of the stairs and out the basement door. He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands, letting out a heavy and pained groan. His mind was afflicted with anguish and guilt, willing to do anything to take back everything that occurred in the last ten minutes. But it was too late. Luna was gone, along the bond they shared in the last month. Because of one mistake, their relationship had turned to ashes and was blown away by the cold wind in a world that was now his empty heart.

Meanwhile, the kids hung out on the driveway and around Vanzilla, waiting for Luna. Instead of doing their usual hobbies to pass the time, they stood together in silence with saddened eyes and lowered heads. The overall mood was too depressing to do anything fun. Jamie's submission to his parents struck a hard chord, disheartening them all. Every other moment, they exchanged glances with one another, sharing the same troubled thoughts. They wondered how Luna and Jamie's talk was going during their absence. Sadly, remembering how the argument ended between Jamie and his parents, they feared it would more than likely reach the same conclusion. The kids despised Alan and Marie for forcing Jamie to choose the recital over their show, but Jamie was the one to break his promise in the end. They were now left without a front man, a pianist, and without that special voice to woo the crowd and the Louds' mother.

Lori, who hadn't touched her phone this whole time, kept watch on the front door for any sign of Luna. So far, there was nothing.

"Luna's been in there for almost ten minutes…" she said, breaking the silence. "I'm getting a little worried..." Her sisters and brother turned their heads to her and then to the door, pondering the same thought.

"You think she's okay…?" Lucy asked, tugging Luan's skirt.

Luan let out a distressed sigh. "I don't know…" She stroked her ponytail at a rather rushing pace, desperately trying to cope with the stress. "We all saw what happened in there. She looked so… devastated."

Lynn scoffed. "Can you blame her? Jamie basically bailed on us! The one time we needed him, he decided to ditch us for some lame recital!" Out of sheer frustration, she kicked a dandelion that grew through a crack on the paved driveway, taking off most of its yellow florets.

Leni flinched slightly from Lynn's aggression towards an innocent flower. "Come on… I think we should feel bad for him." she said, awkwardly rubbing her arm. "He was like, having so much fun with us. I think he wants to do this show as much as we do. Right now he's just… trapped, you know?"

"Regardless Leni," Lori added. "it's too late to change Mister and Missus Maverick's mind. And Jamie was the one who made the final decision. We had no say in it whatsoever."

"That's the trouble with ultimatums." Lisa sighed, shaking her head. "A human being is stuck making a difficult decision. Choosing one results in negative repercussions from the other. I can only imagine what was going through Jamie's mind."

"Well… maybe things are going well in there." Lincoln smiled, attempting to encourage some positivity to the others. Everyone gave him dull glances and raised brows. An uneasiness settled in his stomach, but he was quick to ignore it and continue. "Like you said, Lori, Luna's been in there for a while. If she's taking this long, then it's possible she's getting through to them. When that door opens, there may be a chance after all."

As if on cue, the front door opened, catching everyone's undivided attention. Lincoln's little speech gave everyone a small ray of hope. But once they saw Luna step out and advance towards them, that hope died instantly. Upon closer inspection, Luna was worse than before. Her reddened eyes and cheeks stained with wet black streaks that reached down to her jawline. What hit them home the most were the sniffles, hiccups, and the quick scrambled breaths coming from the distraught teen. There was no doubt on everyone's mind what this meant.

"Oh my God…" Sam whispered, covering her mouth.

Luna approached her siblings and friends, not even bothering to look at them. Her only objective at this point was to escape from the pain inflicted upon her within the walls of this house. She reached for the handle to the passenger door, only to find it locked after giving it a tug. Like she wasn't stressed enough. She couldn't take any more of today. She gripped the handle firmly and grit her teeth, turning to Lori with forlorn eyes.

"Luna… what happened…?" her sister asked as softly as she could.

Luna sniffled, trying to keep her nose from running, too upset to look at Lori or anyone else. "I just… I just wanna go home…" Lori hesitated, troubled by the Rockstar's sorrow to oblige her. Unable to wait any longer, Luna's bottom lip trembled, taking in a strained breath. "Please…!" she cried, startling everyone.

"Okay…" Lori nodded, unlocking the doors. With everyone piled in, she pulled Vanzilla out from the driveway and turned out from the corner of the cul-de-sac to head up the road.

Leni, who took the far-left window seat of the back row, peeked out the window and took one last look of the house as they casually cruised by. Out of the corner of her eye, she found Jamie standing out from the porch, sadly watching them drive off. She was the only one in the van to take notice of this. His parents then stepped out from behind. Alan placed a hand on his son's shoulder, only for Jamie to angrily jerk away from his touch and storm back inside. That was the last thing Leni saw before the house disappeared from her sight by the trees they passed by. She turned her head forward and looked down to her lap, fidgeting her thumbs as the last remnants of Jamie took shape into her thoughts. She would never forget those eyes: the eyes of a boy who made the worst mistake of his life. Her siblings believed they were done for. Without him, the show was ruined. However, somewhere in that not so empty head of hers, a faint light continued to flicker.

* * *

The ride home was far from pleasant. The five-minute drive felt like an hour, as if time had slackened under the dark veil of despair. Other than the sound of the motor purring and running, there was nothing but dead silence inside Vanzilla, even after dropping off Sam, Tabby, and Clyde. No words were exchanged, and no one made a peep. One would think someone had just died with the current atmosphere in the van. But it wasn't a person that died. What died that day was the Louds' aspiration to give their parents' the best first date anniversary ever, as well as to fulfill their mother's wish to hear Freddie Mercury's voice sing their love song. While Lori focused on the road, the rest of the siblings focused on Luna in the front. She sat low in her seat with her arms crossed tightly to her chest while her swollen and reddened eyes stared passed everything before her and into nothingness. They had never seen their sister so hurt and crushed. This left everyone with pained hearts and twisted stomachs, and there was nothing they could think of or do to cheer her up. The only person who could do any good for her was Jamie, the one who inflicted that same pain upon her in the first place. At this point, she probably never wanted to see his face again.

Soon enough, the Louds pulled into their driveway as the sun began to set. Before Lori could even turn off the van, Luna was the first to step out, slamming the door shut. Her siblings quickly followed suit and followed her silently and with caution. She entered the house, not acknowledging her parents sitting on the couch in the living room with Lily sitting in her mother's lap.

"Hey kids!" Lynn Sr. greeted with a bright smile. "How was the-" His sentence and his smile dropped the moment he noticed the presence of frowns upon his children's faces, especially Luna with her tear and eyeliner stained face as she stormed up the stairs. "movie…?"

The rest of the Loud kids stood and looked up from the bottom of the stairs, watching Luna turn the corner and hear her footsteps fade. They all flinched the moment they heard the door to her and Luan's room slam shut hard, echoing through the house.

With her motherly instincts kicking in, Rita handed Lily over to her husband as she stood from the couch and joined the rest of her kids. She placed her hands on the railings tenderly and looked to the hall upstairs.

"Luna, sweetie?" she called. "Are you okay?" No answer. "Luna?" Still nothing. She turned to her other kids, hoping to get answer from them. "What happened with your sister?"

The kids hesitated to reply, glancing to each other for any ideas for a lie. If they told her the truth, their whole plan would be exposed and all the work they put into was for nothing. But with Jamie forcefully backed out, it was for nothing anyways.

"It was a boy." Luan replied. Her siblings and mother looked to her as she awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

"A boy?" Rita asked.

"Yeah…" Luan continued. "You know Jamie? That boy we were hanging out with for the last month?" Her mother nodded. "H-he came with us to the movies today. And then afterwards, Luna confessed that she really liked him and asked him to be her boyfriend." She then looked down and sighed deeply. "He told her he just wanted to stay friends… so, she's taking it pretty hard."

Her siblings stared at her with dropped jaws, absolutely stunned by her improvised lie.

"Oh, my poor baby…" Rita frowned, glancing up the stairs. "Should I go talk to her?"

"I… think it's best to leave her alone for a while, Mom…" Lori replied.

"Alright… Dinner will be ready soon, so you kids go wash up. If your sister doesn't come down, I'll just leave a plate for her later." She turned to her husband before she stepped into the dining room. "Honey, could you come help?"

"Sure thing, dear." Lynn Sr. replied, sitting up and strolling into the kitchen with Lily in his arms.

Once their parents were out of sight, the kids let out huge sighs of relief.

"Nice save, Luan!" Lynn said, patting her shoulder.

"Thanks, but it may as well be true…" Luan bit her lip, hugging her arms to her chest. "Jamie really did hurt her… He hurt all of us…"

"So… what are we gonna do about tomorrow…?" Lana asked.

Pondering this question, they looked up the stairs, realizing that only Luna could answer Lana's question. But for now, it was time to give her some space.

"Hey Lincoln…?" Luan asked. "Is it okay if I sleep in your room tonight…?"

With a soft sigh, her brother nodded. "Sure. I'll get an extra pillow and a sleeping bag."

* * *

With the curtains covering the window, the room was dimmed in darkness while Luna laid on Luan's bed, hugging a pillow close to her chest as she stared at the wall across from her. The events from earlier kept playing in her mind as if forced to watch a video on repeat. It wouldn't stop. How could it have come to this? Tomorrow was the big day. Everyone was really looking forward to it. They put so many hours into rehearsals, making sure everything was right. Everything was going off without a hitch. But then…

Luna felt the tears coming back, pushing themselves out from her already red and irritated eyes, soaking into the pillow. The lump in her throat wouldn't go away. Mister and Missus Maverick… the recital… and… Jamie…

Jamie…

Letting out a big sniffle, she pulled her phone from her pocket and scrolled through her photos, searching for pictures taken during their least two weeks of rehearsal.

Her soaked eyes met with the first one: herself, Jamie, Sam, Tabby, Clyde, and her siblings scrunched together in a single selfie. Everyone had big smiles on their faces on their first day of rehearsals in the studio.

She scrolled to the next picture: it was herself, Sam, and Tabby, playing their instruments.

And next one: her siblings and Clyde standing together as the chorus for the song.

And the next: Jamie, herself, and Lisa sitting before the mixing console. During their breaks, she and Lisa showed Jamie how to use it and the other equipment in the studio.

And the next: Jamie singing with the chorus.

And the next: Jamie at the piano with Lana sitting next to him on one side and Lola on the other. The twins loved and enjoyed watching his fingers jump all over the keys like chirping crickets in a field.

And the next: Herself, Jamie, Sam, and Tabby shoulder to shoulder, posing as their little Queen group.

The next several pictures were just of her and Jamie doing different activities together in the studio: playing their instruments and singing together back to back, sitting together on the bench playing a duet on the piano, fooling around with the recording devices with headphones on, singing together in front of a microphone.

With every picture she scrolled through with just the two of them, the pain within her continue to pulsate strongly. More hot tears ran down her face, washing away the streaks of eyeliner from earlier. As if one twist wasn't enough, the knife in her heart continued to twist again and again, never stopping. She made it to the last picture, and her whole body tensed up. She felt her heart beat against the inside of her chest and grow warm…

Until it was torn in half a measure:

It was a selfie with only her and Jamie with both wrapping an arm around each other, pressing their cheeks together. They looked up at the camera with warm toothy smiles and joyful eyes.

Luna stared at this picture for a minute, her trembling eyes gazing only to Jamie's still image. They had grown close in the last month, doing what they loved most. They were determined to finish their project. They were in this together until the end. He and his voice were going to make tomorrow night magical…

Until he was made to pick the recital over their show…

He left the group…

He left the band…

He left _her_…

In a sudden fury, blinded by her tears, and with a broken scream, she threw her phone as hard as she could across the room, only for it to hit the beanbag's firm cushioning. The phone survived with the picture of her and Jamie still displayed. She huffed and wheezed, staring at her phone from the other side until its screen shut down with the picture gone. She grit her teeth once more before letting out an agonizing sob.

"Dammit, Jamie…!" she cried. "You promised us…! *hic* You promised _me_!"

She collapsed on Luan's bed, hugging the pillow tighter than ever. She then entered into a fit of loud sobs, followed by hiccups and sniffles. The pillow muffled her heartbreak, soaking up all her tears.

She cried for the rest of the evening and into the night. She was alone in the darkness. No other light could help ease her pain.

Her own light was blown out earlier that day…


	8. The Last Fork in the Road Pt. 1

_Friday, May 25_ _ th _ _ – Mid-Afternoon_

What was once a place of blissful chaos had now become a dwelling of gloom at the Loud house.

A curtain of silence surrounded the nine kids as soon as they woke up that early morning. None of them could eat their breakfast. Something was being eaten though, but it wasn't the bacon and eggs their father prepared: it was something inside each of them. Their souls were nibbled away bit by bit, staring down at their full plates with empty eyes. Together, they shared the weight of misery on their shoulders, and the reason was all too clear. The kids looked to one another, then glanced up at the ceiling, their thoughts on the only sister who had yet to rise from bed. And who could blame her? Luna had taken the heaviest blow from yesterday's turn of events. Within their endless chain of eleven links, hers was struck the hardest, rattling the other ten. When one sibling was hurt, that pain spread to the others like a sickness, as if they shared one body. They had to find a way to get her back on her feet before the gig with Sam and Tabby. In most matters, the cure was simple: encouragement, love, and support by the other ten siblings. However, Luna's ailment was worse. She was in charge of the whole operation. She found her Freddie Mercury, put together her junior Queen group and led rehearsals for the last month. But just like that, it all went up in smoke. She was now left without a front man, and with a broken heart. As far as her siblings knew, they were running out of time, and she wasn't going to come out anytime soon. They needed to do something and fast, which was why after their parents left to run some errands, Lori called for an emergency sibling meeting.

* * *

Over in Huntington Manor, Jamie was no better. With everything that fell apart before his very eyes, he spent the rest of the evening yesterday in his room with the door locked. He hardly slept that dark starless night with the shroud of guilt over his head. He wouldn't forget this. He would never forget the look on everyone's faces the moment he was made to leave them behind, especially Luna's. Her tearful face was forever carved mercilessly into his heart with a dull rusty knife and her cracked raspy voice continued to ring in his ears. He stared at the wall next to his bed blankly for hours. He hugged himself, shivering as if the room had gotten cold, and pulled his knees to his chest in a shameful fetal position. His stomach was in too many knots to take off his clothes or brush his teeth. All because of one stupid mistake, he lost it all. Every aching moment from that day hammered against the inside of his head. He wanted to sleep. That's all he wanted to do: sleep and hope that the next day would be easier on him.

That morning, he felt worse than before. It was Mister and Missus Loud's first date anniversary, the day he was suppose to join Luna, her siblings and their friends to play and sing for them. But it was only a painful reminder that he would never join them on that little stage. The only thing he was thankful for was not having to see his parents and be reminded of the recital. One stab in the stomach was enough. It was better than a stab in the back. Alan and Marie left for the university in Ann Arbor while he was still in bed, leaving Rosalita to look after him.

There were doubts she could do anything to help the boy. That same afternoon as she prepared a salad in the kitchen, she kept her ears open for any sound of movement from upstairs. Soon enough, the door from his bedroom opened with a slow and long creak. Rosalita paused her lettuce chopping to listen. Faint and slow footsteps made their way down the upstairs hall before the shut of a door; the bathroom door most likely. It was quickly followed by running water. If she knew him and his moody bathing habits, it was going to be a long one. Perhaps when he was done showering and finally come down, she could try and talk to him.

The water ran like music down the echoing tiles while Jamie stripped down to the first shame of mankind. The chill of the air conditioning nipped his vulnerable skin. Leaning over the sink, he stared himself down in the mirror. The first thing he saw were the dark circles under his eyes. He raised a finger and sloppily pressed into one of them, pulling his eyelid down and exposing the bloody red underside. He let out a defeated sigh, delving into what was once himself. All he could see now was an empty shell with vacant eyes. One trembling hand gripped the sink tightly. He felt nothing but disgust by his reflection. He turned his attention to the shower as the water was running long enough. The Queen fanatic took a step in, meeting with chilling water raining down from the nozzle above. Naturally, goosebumps quickly formed on his skin in reaction. His body begged him to back away and warm up the water, but his will forced it to remain under the pummeling droplets. Jamie grit his teeth and clenched his fists as he fought against the shivering shower. As far as he knew, he deserved this. His soaking hair fell over as he stayed under there for a full twenty minutes. Detesting the day to come, he had no choice but to get ready for what would be the end of his world.

* * *

The faint stampede of muffled footsteps drummed softly in Luna's ears, stirring her from the slightly refreshing slumber on Luan's bed. Her eyes cracked open to the dim atmosphere of the room. The only source of light came through a small slit from the curtains and under the door. She rose from the bed, loosening her hug of the pillow she clung to for comfort all night, now stained with her dry and smeared eyeliner. Looking down at it, the Rockstar let out a heavy sigh as memories of yesterday flooded her mind. The pressure within her small chest and the knots in her stomach returned. She stayed slouched and spaced out for a minute, expecting a lump in her throat and another fit of sobs to escape from her lips…

But there was nothing. No cries. No tears. Nothing. Last night had drained her essence to the point of total exhaustion. The wells in her eyes had dried up and her broken voice was gone. Unable to stay up any longer, her weakened body surrendered to the comfort and warmth of her sister's bed and the desire to sleep. In no time at all, she was out like a broken light.

As good as the sleep was, it still didn't change the fact today was her parents' first date anniversary and she was without Jamie. She needed to figure out a new plan and fast, no matter how slow her mind and body were going. Time wouldn't wait for her to catch up. And speaking of the time… She peeked under the blanket and around the bed, searching for her phone. Her eyes then glanced over to the beanbag from across the room. There it was, sitting perfectly on the cushioning with the screen facing her. With another tired sigh, she climbed out of bed. Her legs trembled the moment she planted her feet to the floor. The burden of her exhaustion dragged her down like weights. Slouched over still, she stumbled over to the beanbag. Even reaching for the phone proved difficult with every muscle in her body aching. With the phone now wrapped in her fingers, Luna pinched the bridge of her nose and took a third long sigh as she saw the time on the opened screen.

"A quarter to one…" she mumbled morosely.

Wasting no more time, she stripped down and slipped on her robe before heading to the bathroom, dragging her feet across the carpet. Just before she could step in, she stopped in place, picking up muffled voices coming from Lori and Leni's closed off room. Her head turned towards the door. Were her siblings having a meeting without her? What were they discussing? Why would they leave her out of it?

Unless it was about her… After everything that happened, it would make sense.

Creeping up to the door, the rock star held a hand up and leaned her ear in. She took a silent breath and listened in closely.

"_Here's the thing, guys…_" she heard first. It was a no brainer whose voice it was.

Inside, Lori stood before her siblings while they sat near and around the beds, sharing worried and distraught expressions.

"Because of yesterday's… incident, it's most likely that our show's not gonna happen…" Everyone's frowns deepened. "And Luna hasn't come out of her room yet, so… we don't know if she's even gonna want to play at her gig anyways…"

"But we can't just give up now!" Luan exclaimed, hugging her legs close to her chest. "We worked really hard to get this far!"

"I understand, Luan. I know you're all disappointed-"

"Oh-ho-ho! We're more than just disappointed!" Lynn interrupted, grabbing a pillow and jumping to her feet on Leni's bed. "We're downright peeved! And we all know why!"

"Yeah! It's all Jamie's fault!" Lola growled angrily. "He ditched us! And he made Luna cry!"

"Nobody makes any of our sisters cry!" Lana added. Charles snarled aggressively in her lap as if agreeing with her.

"I say we teach that jerk a lesson!" Lynn said, slamming the pillow down and cracking her knuckles. "

"I know a curse that would render his hands useless so he can't play tonight…" Lucy suggested, her voice more bitter than usual. "He will not get away with this…"

"Forget curses! Let's kidnap him and lock him in the closet until he agrees to perform with us!" Lola blurted out, rubbing her hands together and gnashing her teeth.

"I believe a mind controlling device would be the better solution." Lisa implied. "I could easily put one together within an hour."

"No curses!" Lori yelled. "No kidnapping and no mind control! What's done is literally done! It's not like we can go back in time and change what happened!"

Lisa parted her lips and raised a finger, only for Lori to shoot a scowled glare towards the four-year-old genius.

"And no time machine either!"

The kid genius turned away with crossed arms and a pout.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Luna continued her eavesdropping. She could feel the anger emanating from her sisters' voices. With her body and mind still uneasy from last night, she was vulnerable to any emotional influence outside of her own being. The more she listened to their rants, the more her coldness for Jamie grew in her heart. The knife gave another twist before being consumed by the ice. It was coming back: the knots in her stomach, the growing weight in her chest, and the lump in her throat. What was left of her drive to carry on slowly diminished. Luna hung her head low as she blankly stared at the floor. Maybe it was time to give up… Maybe she should go back to her room and forget about everything:

The first date anniversary…

The gig…

Their song…

And Jamie…

She turned to her room and took the first steps towards it, ready to enter darkness once again…

"_Alright, that's enough! This is totes not cool_!"

Luna was put to a screeching halt as if the voice was a hand firmly grasping her shoulder.

"_You shouldn't say such mean things about him! Do you hear how unfair you guys are being right now?_"

This sudden assertiveness from her second eldest sister drew her attention away from her room. For a moment, the discomforts within herself relaxed. Taking a moment to think, Luna decided to shift her way towards the closed door and away from the dark atmosphere of her room.

On the other side, Leni stood her ground as Lynn gave her an intimidating glare.

"You're seriously defending him?" the jock asked, gritting her teeth.

"Yes, I am!" Leni replied with her hands on her hips, returning the optical gesture. "The last thing he would want to do is hurt us!"

"In case you forgot, he did!" Lola whined.

"But not on purpose!"

"Leni's got a point." Lincoln stepped in. "We all saw what went down yesterday. We can't blame him entirely."

"Oh, come on! Not you too!" Lynn groaned.

"No, they're right." Luan added, looking to her younger sisters. "Jamie's parents gave him no choice. They were determined to have him go to his recital. We've been so caught up by Luna's misery, we forgot about his…"

The jock scoffed. "Sure. _His_ misery."

"Knock it off, Lynn." Lori urged her sister, earning crossed arms a stuck-out tongue from her. "Let's hear what Leni has to say."

All eyes turned to her as Leni took a deep breath. "Like I said," she continued. "I think you guys are being unfair. Jamie wouldn't do anything to hurt us… And before you say anything, yes! I know he did! But… don't think he's not hurt by this either…"

Her sisters and brother kept their attention on her. Lynn and Lola still had their doubtful scowls, but Leni kept going. At first her voice was firm and confident. However, it wasn't long before it softened as well as her eyes.

"For the past month, he spent all his free time helping us prepare for this show. He even let us come over to his place and rehearse. We were having so much fun! We enjoyed every minute of it and so did he. And let's not forget we were helping him get over feeling self-conscious about his singing…" She glanced away with pained eyes, hugging herself tightly. An uneasiness stirred in her stomach. "I know how that kind of insecurity feels…" Her siblings' stares softened and grew with deep concern. "Sometimes I'm afraid to do things I enjoy because of what people might think… And it hurts… Like, a lot..."

Every heart in the room was caught in a firm squeeze as their strings were given hard plucks. From behind the door, Luna covered her mouth as a lump throbbed in her throat.

"This show meant so much to Jamie. This was gonna be, like, his biggest step out of the closet. He-" She let out a weak chuckle. "he's better at opening up than I am, that's for sure…"

"Leni…" Lori frowned. She held her hands up to her chest, feeling the urge to hug her sister.

"But anyways, I'm not expecting all of you to believe me when I say Jamie's more upset about this than we are…" She looked over to Lynn and Lola as she mentioned this. Instead of giving their big sister distraught glances back, they simply averted their gaze with the same soft and fragile eyes. "Yesterday, I saw him come outside just as we were leaving, and he had a look on his face that said it all: he made the worst mistake of his life and lost the closest friends he ever had…"

The room laid silent as the siblings pondered Leni's words with all eyes looking in every other direction besides hers. Part of them wanted to remain resentful over Jamie's decision of dropping out from their show, especially after seeing how it devastated Luna. It was torture to hear her cries of pain and heartbreak from the thin walls that night, and there was nothing they could do to help her. There was, however, always another side to the story, and Leni was the only one to tell it. Perhaps she was right to pity him rather than hate him, despite how hard it was not to. Luan let out a soft sniffle, wiping her nose with colorful handkerchiefs she pulled from her shirt, each tied together with the other. Lincoln scooched next to her and pulled her into a gentle and comforting embrace.

The empty wells that were Luna's eyes began to flourish once again and fill to the brim with warm tears. It took her everything in her power to keep a choked-up breath from slipping between her trembling lips. Even with her hand over them, it wouldn't be enough. Every word that came out of Leni's mouth was like a flame that flickered underneath her frozen heart, melting away the cold bitterness towards Jamie. Though her heart was warming up, the flame couldn't melt the knife lodged within: a reminder of the pain he sent her way.

"We all make mistakes: big and small ones. I know he wants to take it back, and I know he wants to perform with us. If he didn't want to do it, then why did he put so much effort into this project?"

There was no arguing with her. In fact, no one said a word. Their eyes brightened, astounded by this rare occurrence. Leni wasn't one to make powerful speeches, but under the right circumstances combined with her pure heart, she could catch a crowd by surprise.

"For these last few weeks, we got to know Jamie for who he was: someone with the energy and passion to do great things, and he was willing to put those two things and his beautiful voice into something greater. He was doing what he loved to do, and I'm sure he wanted see the joy it brought to everyone. It certainly brought joy to us. And it's thanks to his assistance and guidance that we got this far to make this show a reality. Although he accidentally hurt us, I'm willing to forgive him." Leni's smile grew as well as her compassionate eyes. "If anything, he's one of the sweetest, generous, and most thoughtful people we've met, and I think Luna's lucky to have a friend like him~"

Luna's running eyes widened. In that moment, it was as if the knife in her heart unsheathed halfway. Lynn and Lola's frantic comments from earlier stirred the pain within like a heavy storm, but through Leni's kind words, it settled down to a mild shower and became an easier burden to bear. But the pain remained, still ringing. The thought of Jamie was the last thing Luna wanted right now. The show for her parents was the main priority right now. At this point, it was her only drive to move forward. She took a moment to regain her composure: standing firm and strong, wiping the river of tears from her cheeks, and taking a few needed breaths. At the ready, she rapped on the door. Without missing a beat, the muttering of her sibling's voices was cut short.

On the other side, nine pairs of startled eyes stared at the door. Their young hearts raced, concerned as to who was knocking. Their first thought of who was behind there was either their mother or father or both. If it was either one, why were they home so early? And how much did they hear? Within the thin doors and walls, they could've heard every word, no matter how quiet the kids were. If it was them, the surprise for their first date anniversary was now spoiled. The hope for discretion slowly died like a wilting flower under dark clouds. The knock had to be answered, but none of the nine Loud children could, as if their voices were taken by an unknown presence. They couldn't answer. They didn't want to answer. If it truly was their parents, they were done for. One of the siblings replied at last, but in this case, she wasn't answering to set up a joke.

"W-who is it…?" Luan asked. Beads of cold sweat formed over everyone's foreheads, biting down hard on their bottom lips.

"It's me…" a calm raspy voice replied.

The moist beads kept their latches strong. The Louds let out soft and stunned gasps followed by sighs of deep relief.

"That was _way_ too close…" Lincoln said, wiping his forehead.

Luan was quick to rush over and open the door, finding her sister and roommate standing before her. The jokester's heartstrings were given another hard tug as she put her hands over her mouth and chest with the hope to ease the aching within her. But there was no avail. With brows furrowed up and eyes trembling in heartbreak, she and the rest of her siblings stared at Luna, wearing nothing but her signature purple bathrobe. Her eyes hinted with redness and her cheeks remained stained with smeared eyeliner.

"Hey, dudes..." Luna waved, giving a barely noticeable smile.

Worry and insecurity filled everyone's heads, figuring out a way to approach and speak without provoking any more stress.

"Luna…" Luan started, rubbing her arm. "… you doing okay?" She heard half a dozen smacks to the face and a few clicked tongues from behind, no doubt her siblings were reacting rather uneasily from her first and uncomfortably straightforward approach.

Luna took a deep shuddering breath, averting her eyes for a moment before returning her conflicting gaze back to Luan.

"I… could be better…" she replied, biting her bottom lip. She took notice of Luan glancing down and her frown dropping even further. The depressing sight gave Luna's stomach an unsettling churn.

The jokester and the rock star shared the closest bond and understanding of one another. After all, both girls were on top in the performing arts with the thrills of entertaining with music and comedy. It made sense for the two to share a room, using it to come up with new material. They would perform for each other and give peer reviews and advice to help better themselves and improve their skills for future shows. With great dreams, however, came the fears to stalk them. The biggest fear Luna and Luan shared was to see each other drop from their passions entirely. Outside influences such as heartbreak, writers block, lack of clients and gigs were major factors to their personality changes every now and then. When one sister was in a dim and inactive state that kept her from doing what she loved, it was up to the other to pull her out of the hole and get her back on her feet. Whenever Luan's heart was given the flashing light or when she had a bad show, Luna was always there to get her to smile with a few jokes of her own. They weren't as good as Luan's, but the effort was what counted. And whenever Luna had an achy breaky heart or was in the angry chair, it was Luan to help put out the fire. She would often play uplifting and inspiring tunes on Luna's guitar to bring the stage light back. The jokester lacked the expertise on playing the instruments kept in the room, but it was enough to cheer her sister up. There was nothing better than the love and support by a sister with similar goals involving a stage and a roaring or laughing crowd.

In the back of her mind, Luna somehow knew Luan would be the one to open the door. As much as she loved her other siblings, she always held a special place in her heart for her. She sought for Luan's comfort, but upon catching a glimpse of the jokester's anguish-filled eyes, she was in need it too. In that moment, it was up to Luna to make the next move.

"Sis…" the rock star whispered. Getting Luan's attention, she opened her arms with a more noticeable and reassuring smile.

Luan sniffled and wiped her eye while a trembling smile formed under her overbite. The grip around her heart finally loosened as she widened her arms as well. The two sisters locked each other in a long and warm embrace for anyone in their presence to see. This lasted for almost a minute. Their siblings witnessed the tender scene in blissful silence, nearly catching the tearful illness going around the room. A great relief settled within them to finally see Luna out and about. Like a magnet, the urge to join in the hug was strong, but they resisted the temptation, not wanting to ruin Luan and Luna's moment together.

"It's really good to see you up…" whimpered Luan, nuzzling her sister's shoulder. "We've been worried since last night…"

"Sorry…" Luna squeezed tighter as an ache throbbed in her still weakened heart.

"Don't be." Lori boldly said. "You had every right to be upset, it was harder for us because it was you that was hurt the most from all this." The siblings clamored and nodded in agreement. Luna's thankful gaze met with everyone, but when Leni came into her sight, the rock star's eyes went into a slight dullness.

"I… heard what you said about Jamie." she said, carefully breaking the hug.

"You did…?" Anxiously, Leni bit her lip, knowing well that the mention of the singer boy could stir another furious storm.

"Yeah… I _may_ have been listening to you guys from outside the door…" Luna rubbed her arm awkwardly as her siblings joined Leni with their own lip-nibbling.

"How much did you hear…?" Lincoln asked.

"Pretty much everything..." Luna sighed. "Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do. And you're right: Jamie is a great and talented guy, and I'm lucky to have a friend like him, or at least I_ was_…" She swallowed hard, as if someone tapped a reflex hammer against her throat. "After yesterday, I'm not so sure anymore… I understand some of you can forgive him, but I don't think I'll be able to... at least not now." She placed a hand over her heart, gripping her robe's lapel tightly. "I know it wasn't his fault, but in the end, he made the choice to leave us for his recital when we needed him; when _I _needed him. I-it really hurts." Luna plopped herself down on Leni's bed in a deep slouch, staring down at the carpet. "But right now, I don't want to think about him after everything that's happened between us…"

Lori joined Luna on the bed, carefully giving her a gentle pat on the back. "Then we won't talk about it anymore." she said. "You're more important right now, and we'll always be here when you need us. No matter what, we've got your back." Everyone clamored in agreement, joining in as well. The bed was a tad small for them all to gather on, but that didn't stop them from finally giving Luna the warm and loving sibling hug she needed. Lily climbed up into her lap and smothered herself into the rock star's chest.

Luna's frown was raised, unable to keep herself from smiling so widely and giddily. Her wounded heart absorbed the warmth emitting from each of her sisters and brother, overpowering the pain she endured most of all. Friends were limited, but family was forever; never to take for granted. The contented rock star closed her eyes and nestled into everyone's arms.

"Thanks, everyone~" she sniffled, wiping her eye. "I'm starting to feel a lot better now. Now that we're all good, I think it's time we get ready."

"Get ready for what?" Luan asked, tilting her head.

"Tonight's show, of course!" Luna was pummeled with blank stares from each sibling. Lily's, however, was only mimicry as she glanced up at her big sister with bulging eyes, trying a little too hard.

"Are you sure you're still up for that?" Lincoln asked with a hint of worry in his voice. "You think we can do the show without Ja-" He was cut off by multiple glaring daggers aiming towards him ready to thrust. His face turned pale and as a cold chill ran through his frightened veins. The boy slapped his hands over his mouth, his eye twitched from the slight pain he inflicted upon himself unintentionally. "I-I mean without… you-know-who…" he finished.

Luna took a breath, putting Lily down on the bed. She stood boldly before her family with determination ablaze in her eyes.

"I know our show won't be as exciting like we had hoped. We may have lost our most valuable member, but the show must go on! I refuse to back down from a show we've been working hard at for the last month! For now, this gift to Mom and Dad is from all of us, and I have no doubt they'll be more than grateful for it. We all know this won't fulfill Mom's dream without that special voice, but at least she'll be pleased that we're doing this. So, what do you say? Are we gonna give Mom and Dad the best first date anniversary present ever?"

"YES! WE! ARE!" her siblings exclaimed. As one unit, they rose to their feet and saluted the rock star; the sole commander of their operation.

Luna smiled proudly, eager to get the show on the road. She was prepared for this day. One of the four pillars of her foundation was demolished by the worst obstacle she faced, but she stayed strong with the remaining three. Though her words and actions were bold and filled with hope, a part of her remained crippled. Within the deepest and darkest void of her mind, she wished her front man was with her to help.

* * *

_3:20 P.M._

"You really should eat something…" Rosalita urged, tenderly placing a small bowl of salad before the crestfallen boy.

Jamie said nothing while staring at the bowl in front of him with no intention of eating at all. His stomach was already full; full of the sadness and loneliness he'd been swallowing all morning and afternoon.

Rosalita could only watch with a sunken heart, seeing the young man she helped raise since he was four sit there, wallowing in his own misery. Just as she was on the verge to giving up, she noticed his empty eyes drift in the direction of the fork next to the bowl. She took in and held her breath. Jamie lifted a hand and brought it towards the silverware hesitantly, like the protagonist in a horror film nearing a door where the killer was obviously standing on the other side. Rosalita's frown slowly rose to a hopeful smile. It grew bigger the closer Jamie's hand was towards the fork, near to the point of showing her teeth. Perhaps there was some hope… until he halted and lingered his hand over the fork. Her smile froze for a moment, only to be shot down as he abandoned the utensil and shifted his hand towards the bowl. In one smooth and heart aching gesture, he pushed it away, averting his soulless gaze from both Rosalita and the salad.

"I'm not hungry…" he muttered, leaning on his elbow on the counter.

A few knots sat in the pit of Rosalita's abdomen. The woman was left powerless to do anything to help this boy. The last time she saw him this upset was when he was teased and bullied, just from his changing and cracking voice during puberty.

"Please, dear… is there _anything_ I can do that might cheer you up…?"

Jamie shook his head, still averting his gaze. "There's nothing you can do… This is all my fault…" He buried his face in his arms, running his fingers through his hair before grabbing several locks. "I screwed up big time…"

Rosalita sighed dolefully. "Jameson, it's going to be alright-"

"No, it's _not_ gonna be alright!"

She stepped back with a wide and startled glance from his sudden outburst. Jamie's arms dropped to the counter as he looked up at her. More knots tied within her, no longer seeing emptiness within his eyes. They were now fueled with anger and frustration; not towards her, but to himself.

"Luna was counting on me to do this show with her! _Everyone_ was counting on me! And because of _my_ mistake, I let her down! I let them all down! And after tonight, Luna will probably never speak to me again! She's the first true friend I ever made, and I'm gonna lose her! And for what?! A stupid piano recital! I just-! I can't-!" Letting out a bitter groan, he took his leave from the kitchen to the basement.

Rosalita stood in forceful silence, taking in the boy's verbal discharge before he disappeared from her sight. The last thing she heard was the loud and brutal slamming of the basement door that even made her heart almost jump out from her chest. She was left alone with only her thoughts, knowing that even she couldn't help him.

Was this recital really worth losing a friend?

Jamie locked himself in the sound room and plopped down before the piano with a heavy huff. The weight of guilt grew heavier on his shoulders, regretting his lash out towards Rosalita. But how could she understand what he was going through? There was nothing she could do for him at this point. He was alone to suffer the consequences he brought upon himself. The fissures of his inner being let out the steam of his heated anger, only to be left with his misery. Staring down at the black and white keys, the urge to play out his loss and turmoil took control. The boy found it difficult to express his feelings through words, but he found a better way to let out his frustrations: through music.

The first coming to mind was Queen's _It's a Hard Life_: the song of a man who blames himself for his own heartbreak for falling in love with a woman. She didn't love him back, and he knew it. Although his predicament had nothing to do with heartbreak from love, Jamie felt it was the closest and relatable song by the band he idolized.

Pulling himself together with a few deep breaths, he positioned his fingers on the correct keys. Just as he was about to start the song's strong and dramatic beginning, his fingers slid off the keys and fell into his lap as if his hands went limp.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to play. After backing out of performing one of Queen's most iconic songs with Luna, her friends and her family, Jamie no longer felt worthy to use one of their songs to let out his lament. If the man he looked up to and shared the same golden voice with was looking down at the boy right then and there, witnessing all the pain he's caused, he would shake his head with detest and tell him the same thing.

"It's poetic justice…" Jamie said to himself, letting out an uneasy chuckle to this realization, dropping it back to a deepened frown. He was now lost with no guide.

Without the stride of the band that fueled him, he had to find another song to express himself with outside his favorite. In a regretful recourse, there was one that came to mind. This time, he brought himself to place his fingers back on the keys, no matter how much it tortured him_._

Allowing his sorrows take control of his hands, he caressed the keys like a cat kneading, starting with a soft melancholic introduction. His fingers climbed up and down the keys like they were dancing on a grand staircase of musical notes for all to hear, but there was nobody around to hear his pain. Jamie yearned to sing, but was overwhelmed by a strong throbbing lump in his throat. He parted his lips to push out his voice, only for choked up breaths and gasps to escape. He simply stared off at the wall before him, visualizing the words before him, letting the piano be his voice.

[(♫)](https://youtu.be/ygODgCwh5jU?t=9)

_Yesterday… _He heard from the large instrument, each singing key being a lyrical syllable. _All my troubles seemed so far away… Now it looks as though they're here to stay… Oh, I believe… in yesterday… _

The song was perfect… too perfect.

Going into the second verse, the blend of bass and treble clefs grew stronger as well as the internal torment of Jamie's mistake: prying him to see Luna's tear-stricken face and hear her last departing words. It was as though his rib were closing in on his lungs, crushing them to force out a much-needed cry.

_Suddenly… I'm not half the man I used to be… _These words rang his heart like a church bell_, _knowing them to be true. He felt smaller than ever, undeserving to have a friend like Luna Loud or anyone like her in his life._ There's a shadow hanging over me… Oh, yesterday… came suddenly…_

The guilt was too strong, overpowering him and finally breaking the dams. His vision grew blurry with fat bitter tears. They ran down his face and splashed onto the keys. Though he was blinded, Jamie continued his dance with what seemed to be his only remaining companion to play out the chorus.

_Why she had to go? I don't know, she wouldn't say… _The singer boy grit his teeth on the verge of emotional exhaustion, keeping the sad melody at the steady but strong forte. He was going to finish, no matter how much it hurt. He had to let it out. _I said something wrong… Now I long… for yesterday…_ His fingers climbed down the keys, settling the song down to a quick diminuendo. With the last few bars of the score, he pawed the last sustaining high notes and let them fade until there was nothing left to hear…

All but his quiet gasps and raspy sobs.

Jamie's trembling hands slipped away from the instrument's teeth. He dropped his head, staring down at what he could see were the keys wet with his tears through his soggy peer. Struck with saddened fatigue, he couldn't bring himself to play anymore. Without the voice of his piano, he was truly alone…


	9. The Last Fork in the Road Pt. 2

_ 4:15 P.M. _

With barely any clouds in sight, the sun set near the horizon for the town of Royal Woods, coloring the sky with the perfect blend of yellow, red and orange before the fall of night. In the Loud's driveway, the last of the band's equipment were hauled up and tied down on top of Chunk's van. With one last tug, the roadie wrapped the excess length of the rope around one end of the rack and looked up at the poorly organized set with a proud smirk, patting himself on the back for a job well done.

The front door opened with Luna, Sam and Tabby stepping out as the rest of the Louds following behind. The bassist and drummer made their way to the van while Luna stayed behind, giving her siblings final instructions of tonight's plan.

"Okay, dudes," she started with a thrilled grin. "remember to be at the restaurant around eight! We'll meet you in the parking lot and then get ready for our big finale!" She pulled them into a big embrace, always able to count on her family for moral support.

"Good luck with the show." Lucy smiled. "We'll be thinking of you."

"Yeah!" Luan added. "We all hope you have a good _chime_! Hahaha! Get it?"

While the others let out low unimpressed groans, Luna cracked a smirk, rolling her eyes.

"Don't forget these!" Leni slid her way through her siblings, handing Luna three parcels wrapped in brown paper, each one labeled with her and her bandmates' names. "I'm _totes_ excited to see how they look when we perform tonight!"

Before Luna could return a verbal gesture, the revving engine and the blaring horn of Chunk's van turned her head.

"We best get a move on if we wanna set up shop, luv!" The roadie exclaimed, patting the outside of his door. Through the driver's seat window, Sam and Tabby were already in ready to go.

"Hold on tight, brah! I'll be right there!" Luna waved before turning back to her siblings. "Time to get on the road again! See you soon, my homies!" She leaped from the porch and excitedly jogged around the van, jumping into the passenger's seat. All buckled up, she and her band gave the rest of the Louds a last few waves while the van pulled out and rolled its way up the street.

"Our performance may be a few hours away, but we can at least make sure we have everything we need until then." Lincoln remarked, standing boldly with hands at his hips.

"I second it." Lori nodded, starting to make her way back inside. "Lay out your dresses, ladies! We have to look our absolute best!"

"Aww, do we have to?" Lana whined, following the others in.

"Trust me," Lynn answered, patting her little sister's head. "Lori of all people won't let us off the hook so easily."

* * *

With a long and heavy sigh, Jamie gradually tied on the second to last accessory to his evening attire: a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt tucked in, a cummerbund around his waist, and a bowtie hugging the collar to his neck. All he was missing was the jacket, being pressed by Rosalita at the moment. He stared at himself long and hard in the full-scale mirror before him. By a glance, one would think he was getting ready for a wedding with the way he was dressed. He wished that were the case; a wedding for a family friend perhaps. That way, he could miss it without facing repercussion and join his friends at Banger's & Mosh…

But that wish would never come true, proving any more wishful thinking to be pointless. With the short time he had, he would soon depart for his true destination: the piano recital. At every passing moment, the weight of his neglect continued to grow, crippling the boy further down into the mud. After tonight, he could never face Luna again. This was it; his one chance to break free from the cage of self-doubt and show the people of Royal Woods what he could do, and he blew it.

"Jameson?"

The call from downstairs was like a sting to both ears. Many times, he asked Rosalita not to call him by his given name. He didn't mind, considering she was only being formal with the young man, but after recent events, it became a painful reminder of the high expectations his parents put in place for him. Despite their acceptance of his love for classic rock, they still had higher standards for him to live up to. He didn't want to go, but what other choice was there? The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint them. Jamie removed his stage glasses from the bridge of his nose and tucked them into his shirt pocket. Before taking his leave from the room, he took one last look in the mirror… and saw nothing; exactly who he was from there on out:

A nobody.

A deserter.

A coward.

Rosalita waited by the opened front door in her formal apparel: a beige dress skirt that sat just above her knees with a matching jacket, a collared blouse tucked under and black open toed shoes. Her brown hair was tied back into a small bun, and for the finishing touch: a beige cloche hat with embellished flowers on the side. Hanging over her arm was Jamie's dress jacket, dusted and ironed.

The young man finally appeared before the stairs above. A frown settled upon Rosalita's face all afternoon, wearing it still just as she glanced up towards Jamie climbing down the steps. Although his appearance was neat and well-groomed, his descent was sluggish. She wanted no part in the preservation of the boy's turmoil, but she was his only escort to the recital, and his parents were expecting them both. With worry still lingering in her eyes, she presented him his jacket.

"We should be going soon…" she said with no eager in her tone. Noticing the unhinging defeat in his eyes and giving her a nod in agreement, her heart split in two.

Jamie stepped forward, slipping an arm into the jacket sleeve and the other in the next. He turned around with his back facing Rosalita as she helped him put the jacket on entirely, feeling her hands slide down his back, ridding any possible wrinkles.

"Let's just get this over with…"

A shroud of dismay hung over the maid's face. She kept her distance while locking the door, allowing Jamie to reach the car first and climb into the backseats. Rosalita casually climbed into the driver's seat and carefully backed out of the driveway. With a switch of the gears and a slow turn, she steered onto the main street, cruising the car up to the main gates. Every few seconds, she peeked into the rear-view mirror to check on the boy. In her glances, Jamie sat on one side of the back row, leaning his elbow into the door's interior and looking out the window, watching the houses, street lights, and other vehicles pass him by.

He was a mockingbird topped in the feathers of a club-winged manakin, trapped in his cage with no space to spread his wings, yearning for freedom. To this distressed bird, the sedan was a box with poked holes, carrying him from one cage to another.

While Rosalita kept her focus mainly on the road, conflict ensued within her conscience. She couldn't help but feel partly responsible for Jamie's hardship; playing a role in her employers' plan that could determine the boy's future. Fully aware that the recital was the upmost importance, would the surprise Alan and Marie had for him fill the emptiness in his heart and bring life back into his eyes? The maid shook her head, gripping the steering wheel firmly, refusing to be held accountable for the young man's pursuing anguish that could leave a scar and therefore, affect his future goals.

She adjusted the rear-view mirror slightly, confident Jamie wasn't looking her way. With one more tweak, she caught glimpse of the front right pocket of his dress jacket. While she did some last-minute cleaning of the missing piece to his attire earlier, she took a seam ripper and delicately removed the stitches that kept his pocket shut.

A slight grin curled up from one side of her mouth, taking one last look at Jamie just before pulling into the parking lot of the Royal Woods Community College.

* * *

_ 4:59 P.M. _

Friday nights were the busiest for Banger's & Mosh. It was the start of the weekend; the best time for Royal Woods' natives to come flooding in for the delightful and old-fashioned taste of English cuisine and to enjoy the blasting and nostalgia of vintage classic rock. For tonight, the incoming guests were in for a special treat of live music provided by one of the loudest teen rock musicians in town.

The band was set to perform, taking their places at their arranged spots: from a patron's view, Tabby and her percussions were displayed on the drum rise behind the lounge's grand piano; the stage centerpiece. The guitarists stood apart from both sides of the piano with Luna standing stage right while Sam took her position stage left.

Luna couldn't help but bring out an elated grin to the extent of touching her freckles, gazing upon a full house within the main lounge of the restaurant. Teens, adults, families and all came this night to take in the comforts of food, drink, and music. With the clamoring of at least ten dozen voices overlaying one another throughout the two floors of the establishment, it was just like a rock concert, even if the place wasn't as big as the high school's auditorium or a stadium.

The band made it to this moment after a month of hard work, dedication, and the will to push through. The idea to even perform was off the table the second Jamie caved in and abandoned their special cause. Luna's wounded heart throbbed, still feeling the knife stuck within, but thanks to Leni's kind words and the family to catch her fall, its cold rusty blade wasn't as deep as it was previously. It was, however, going to take more than words to dislodge this knife.

Now wasn't the time to look back; only to what was in front of her. The rocker girl stood tall with her chin up, grabbed the mic before her and raised a fist high and proud.

"Evening, dudes and dudettes!" Luna exclaimed enthusiastically into the microphone, receiving a few cheers and applause. "We wanna thank you all for coming in on such a chill and groovy night to enjoy some sweet rock n' roll! We also wanna thank the management for hooking us up with this gig!" She raised horns towards the manager's way, who raised horns back and gave Chunk a bro-fist bump. "But enough talkin'! It's time for rockin' from yours truly- Uhhh…"

The lavender lassie stammered, her tongue tied in a knot and the gears in her head stalled, realizing she had forgotten one small detail amidst the weeks of rehearsing: the name of their group. Despite the trio jamming together on the weekends for fun, they never played together as a legit band until tonight.

The small crowd fell into whispers, flexing their brows towards the lead guitarist, puzzled by her sudden hesitation.

Blushing by some of these reactions, Luna jerked her head to her bandmates. "Oi, did we ever come up with a name for our band…?!" she whispered loudly.

Sam and Tabby looked to each other, reading off of each other's confused glances. In unison, they looked back to Luna, shrugging in reply.

Luna let out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose firmly. She cleared her throat, turning back to her fellow viewers.

"Sorry about that, folks." she chuckled nervous. "Just a slight miscommunication. Now then… let's get this weekend started!"

With one swing of her arm with a pick in hand, the main lounge was pounded with the opening power chords of Luna's main axe, quickly shifting into the repeating riffs. Following this was the accompaniment by another electric guitar strummed fiercely by Sam as well as the single strike of a ride cymbal and the rising drumroll of a single rack tom from the percussions.

Luna let her bold and raspy vocals run wild into the microphone, establishing the show with a song from her own original playlist.

_"Droppin' records on a weekly basis!"_ she sang, joining Sam in a harmonic riff during the short break. With the first verse executed, Tabby kept the percussions on a steady and fast beat, flicking the knobbed ends of the sticks only on the tom and the high-hat. _"Playin' shows in exotic places!"_

Patrons who weren't eating rose from their tables and rushed onto the small dance floor, swinging their hips and air-guitaring in place by themselves or with partners. Those who stayed behind tapped their feet and fingers to the heated beats, watching the performance from a distance.

_"Rockin' out to a cheerin' crowd!"_ The rocker girl banged her head to the echoing beats and rings of the tom and high-hat, spinning the axe in her hands. _"Hear them screamin' 'Luna Loud'!"_ She and Sam side-stepped towards each other in stylish struts until they were back to back. Their fingers crawled up and down the necks of their guitars like spiders under the music's spell, while their picks strummed the strong and flawless riffs continuously over the bridges. _"My favorite colors are platinum and gold! Bein' a Rockstar never gets old!"_

"_My life is a dream;"_ the trio's voices joined together for the end of the first chorus, letting the guitar chords and the crash of a cymbal fade. The tempo settled with a single beat of the drum for a bar and was brought back up, followed by the return of the hi-hat and the vibrating strings. _"A crazy Rock n' Roll dream!"_

Luna wouldn't let the heartaches and dilemmas of the past keep from moving forward and continue down a path doing what she loved most. As contenting as she believed herself to be, the real challenge had only begun.

* * *

The next couple hours passed slower for the young distressed Maverick, as if time itself was torturing him with full intention.

Upon early arrival at the college for the recital meeting, the director passed around copies of the program, listing the order the kids would be performing. A small flicker of hope filled the hole in Jamie's heart. If he was placed somewhere in the first half of the list, perhaps he would be able to leave early and join the Louds in performing for their parents. He kept a hopeful smile once he received a copy and passed down the rest, taking in a breath and stared down at the program as if this was a last chance to find a golden ticket inside. His hand trembled as he took hold of the thin front cover, then in one swift movement, he flipped it open and ran a finger down the page…

And felt the last of his hopes ripped from his heart like a stubborn band aid…

Out of the twenty-five kids, his name was placed nineteenth. The Queen fanatic also took notice of the music pieces each kid would be performing. He easily recognized most of them and knew on the spot that they were compositions lasting almost ten minutes long. The boy screamed internally, like he wasn't upset enough! The director could've at least limited the pieces to five minutes tops, but sadly, Jamie and the attendees would have to sit through songs with too many notes, like Emperor Joseph watching Mozart's _Die Entführung aus dem Serail_.

Now Jamie sat in silent anguish in the choir room near the auditorium where the recital was taking place. He distanced himself from the five teens who had yet to perform, settled in a chair up in the highest and furthest row of the choir risers. He kept his face away from peering eyes, hiding the stigma as he stared out the window towards the glimmering lights of Downtown Royal Woods. Jamie attempted to locate Banger's & Mosh among the windowed cityscape, but the venue's distance kept any signs of the restaurant's presence, including the people in it, far beyond arm's reach. While the other young pianists waited for their turn to perform, one decided to give a last practice run with her piece. Jamie pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a low and pained groan as the room suffused with the melancholic melody of Beethoven's first movement of _Moonlight Sonata_.

_Wonderful timing…_ He thought, gunning a discreet glare towards the girl at the grand instrument.

"Jamie Maverick?" the director called, poking her head out from the door, catching the boy's attention. "You're on in five minutes."

Within those said minutes, the last month of hard work and dedication would be all for nothing. The friendship he built with Luna and her family would be reduced to a cursed memory and leave him scarred with the guilt that could never be overturned. Once he stepped foot on that stage, he would be bound and burned by the chains of isolation, forever to wallow in his self-inflicted misery.

The boy rose from his seat and slithered his hands down to his coat pockets, proving to be no avail… but wait...

His eyes darted to the pocket on the right, finding the seams on the flap taken out. He always knew the pockets on dress jackets were sewn shut; a stupid thing to do, Jamie believed. What was the purpose of putting pockets on a coat if they wouldn't be used? Expecting to feel nothing but the bottom of an empty pouch, he was taken aback by the slight touch and crumble of…

Paper?

A light smack of bewilderment came into contact with his face just as he brought a neatly folded and colored parcel before his eyes, dulling the pain of his present turmoil for a short time. With the final minutes he had left before his recital, he would may as well find out what this piece of paper was, if it had anything worth to read. Four moves were all it took unfold it, resulting in a soft gasp from the Queen fanatic:

It was a note from his housekeeper.

Whenever he came home from school if Rosalita wasn't around, she would always leave a note on the counter for him with either reminders, assistance with chores, or where she was. The fine handwriting, the use of a pen with red ink, and the floral pattern of the paper was all her.

The first thing to catch his eye was how she addressed him in the beginning of the letter: 'Jamie.' In the years she had spent as housekeeper, Rosalita had always referred to him by his more formal full name of Jameson. Seeing her refer to him by the name he always preferred to be called by brought a quiet, choked up gasp to the boy's throat.

_Dear Jamie,_

_I've watched you grow up to become the fine, handsome young man you are today. You've spent countless hours before that piano, and I know you believe me when I say that I'm so proud to see you come this far. You've earned it all through your passion and determination. But all that time, you were missing something; something that you desired so much, it pained me to see you be denied such a precious gift: friends._

_What brightened my day, every day for the last month, was your smile with that new girl. She, her friends and family, have made you happier than I could ever hope for. Someone like this young lady isn't worth losing over a recital. _

_Your parents gave you a map at birth, and I know they await great things from you under their eyes and expectations, but your feelings, your words, are just as important as theirs. If you're not happy with anything that comes your way, there's no shame in saying so._

_This night may determine your future, but it's up to you to decide how tonight plays out; not me, not your parents; you. You choose who you want to be and what you want to do. _

_I wish you all the luck, sweetheart, whatever decision you make~_

By the time he finished reading, two small rivers ran down his cheeks with droplets falling onto the note in quiet pitters. Jamie raised his head up towards the illuminated ceiling, wearing a trembling, stupefied grin.

Looking back, Rosalita was right: Luna was the one person who truly made him happy and feel he was worth something.

Being one of those kids who stood or wandered in the background in the daily high school life, he always admired her from afar; envious of her enthusiastic and outgoing personality, not letting anyone tell her otherwise and shoot for her passions and dreams.

A month before all of this started, even the mere thought of showing off his voice was out of the question. Years of social rejection and the humiliation of a broken voice beforehand crumbled his confidence and self-esteem, rendering him to a quiet and awkwardly timid teenager. The only thing keeping him from falling off that edge was the remarkable and gifted finesse on the ivory keys.

He never once thought that someone of Luna's amplified stature and popularity would mingle with someone as soft-spoken and quiet as him. That was, until she came across his Queen-like voice by accident.

She went great lengths to pull him out from the dark pit that was his self-doubt, wiping away the anxiety from his shaken mindset. Her family; her siblings and friends, all welcomed him with open arms and pushed him further to sing. They were his first audience, and every face amongst it were painted with pure elation and bliss the moment their ears heard his voice, even singing along with him.

If the exhilaration of thirteen charmed people was enough to drive him to perform before a bigger audience, he could only imagine what kind of euphoria that would give, not to mention it could completely break him out of the restless cycle of vocal stage fright.

The young musician wouldn't have made it this far to show off his singing without her, realizing he needed her in his life as his muse, his guide to find the courage he lost so long ago. However, tonight's show was more than about sharing his voice; this was about being there for the rocker girl.

He needed her; but right now, she needed him.

With the conclusion of this epiphany, Jamie glanced over at the clock above the door: fifteen to eight, it said. If he was going to make the final move in the game of life, it would be now…

"… Screw it."

The boy rose from his chair with eyes filled with a newly lit flame, taking one last glance of the windowed cityscape to set his sights on his new destination. Without a word, he marched down the choir riser as he slipped Rosalita's note back in his jacket pocket. The remaining performers watched him in silent puzzlement while he made his way passed them, along with the director who had just stepped in to bring him backstage, only to for him to slip by her like she wasn't there.

"Uh, Jamie? Where are you going?" she asked in a dazed shock. "Backstage is this way!" She pointed in the direction opposite of where he was going, but that wasn't the last door he would push his way through: his eyes were set on the nearest exit. The director continued to call out his name, but with no avail. Jamie kept going with no intention of turning back, ignoring her words like he was wearing sound suppressing ear buds.

He pulled out his phone and extended a finger to the Uber app. Luckily, the app's map showed a few available drivers near the area to pick him up and take him downtown. He could only hope to get to Banger's & Mosh in time.

* * *

A few final and dramatic chords struck the grand instrument's keys by the lone pianist, accomplishing her take on Franz Liszt's _Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2_. The young blonde clad in a long black dress stood from the bench to bow before the applauding audience, quickly taking her leave from the stage with a proud grin.

As impressive as it was to watch the girl's fingers jump all over the long row of keys like they were crickets leaping in a field, the Mavericks couldn't let themselves be swayed. They had long waited for their son to come up and play for them, especially for their special guest.

"We really appreciate you coming to see Jamie, Mrs. Duffleworth." whispered Marie.

Sitting between her and Rosalita was a short older woman with curly red hair streaked in grey within her locks, wearing a pair of rectangular lensed spectacles. For evening attire, she had on a formal sky-blue long-sleeved dress printed with a summer floral pattern trimmed around the hems and yoke, stockings and ivory high-heeled shoes.

"It certainly is a pleasure to watch young ladies and gentlemen bloom into such talented artists." replied the woman, holding a notepad and pen at the ready. "The school, however, is looking for more than just talent and high steady grades from potential students. We would very much like to see them with the love and passion for music too. From the video samples you emailed me, your son looks like he has all of that. All I need now is an up close performance, and if I'm pleased with what I see, then he'll make a perfect candidate for enrollment."

"He knows how important this recital is, and he'll be in for this surprise when we tell him." Alan smiled, excitement and confidence bubbling within him. "I can assure you that he'll pass this audition with flying colors."

Rosalita sat quietly as Mrs. Duffleworth and her employers exchanged in whispers. She would pitch in on how amazing Jamie was at the ivory keys, but the unsettling twist in her stomach kept her from speaking. Her thoughts were strictly clouded with worry for the boy's well-being now that it was about his turn to come out on stage, at least according to the recital's program.

_I wonder if he found the note…?_ she thought as she bit her bottom lip, grasping the hem of her skirt. Soon enough, she got her answer:

Coming to center stage and taking his place on the piano was another boy, who began performing Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G Minor.

This took the Mavericks and Mrs. Duffleworth by some surprise and bewilderment, not yet realizing the tenacity of this inconvenience.

"Wasn't Jamie supposed to be next, dear?" Marie asked her husband.

"He should've been." Alan replied, opening his program and finding their son's name. "Perhaps there were some last-minute rearrangements for the order."

Rosalita glanced over at her employers' puzzlement of the situation, having her own suspicion of what really happened with the boy. To confirm this was an audible vibration coming from Marie's purse.

The Maverick matriarch reached for her phone, believing it to be a text from either one of her friends or from work. That assupmtion, however, was shot down the moment she opened up her message board, letting out a quick dismayed gasp.

"H-honey…!" she whispered frantically to her husband, rapidly tapping his shoulder. She handed her phone to him, showing a long text from their son sent no later than ten seconds. Marie could only watch as Alan's expression turned from confused to bitterly provoked upon reading what Jamie wrote.

** _( Mom, Dad - I'm really sorry to do this, but I _ **

** _can't go through with the recital, and I will _ **

** _accept whatever punishment you give me later. _ **

** _But right now, there's someone who needs _ **

** _me more than ever, and I refuse to lose her._ **

** _I know you expect me to uphold your standards_ **

** _and be the very best, but I have to take control_ **

** _of my own future in the way I see fit at some times. _ **

** _And that's not the only reason: there's something _ **

** _I've been keeping from everyone for a couple years;_ **

** _a secret I once thought to be a tool to pursue my _ **

** _hidden misery, but thanks to Luna, I can finally share_ **

** _it with you. You deserve to know. If you're not too _ **

** _upset, please come to Banger's & Mosh asap,_ **

** _and you will see what I can really do. )_ **

Alan could only stare at the phone while the shock of Jamie's desertion kept its hold. His son had done the unthinkable. Upon months of practice and perfecting techniques to get ready for this life-changing night, Jamie casted it aside like it was nothing, just so he could play a show with his friends, not realizing the consequences of his reckless decision. He made a promise to his parents to be at this recital, and he broke it.

His father couldn't even finish reading the entire text as the infuriation bubbled inside. After blowing this secret audition and ruining his chances of getting into a great school, Jamie would indeed be punished for his actions against his parents' wishes and his broken commitment.

"Come along, everyone…!" the man said in an unpleasant growl. "We're going...!" He took his wife's hand, pulling her up from her seat as he scooted through the occupied row. Still with Marie's phone in his hand, he attempted to call his son.

Without a word or question, Mrs. Duffleworth and Rosalita followed suit, expressing their apologies to the other patrons as they made their way through and followed the couple out of the auditorium.

"May I ask what's going on here?" asked Mrs. Duffleworth, growing more confused by the second with their sudden leave.

Alan's call immediately went to Jamie's voicemail.

_"Hey, this is Jamie. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but if yo-"_

The automatic reply was cut off as Alan hung up, letting out a heavy irritated huff. "He's not answering. He must've turned his phone off."

Marie squeezed her husband's hand in hopes to calm him down, but facing the reality of what happened, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. As uncomfortable as she was to seeing him furious, she also felt the discomfort of their guest's disappointment after months of arranging her visit and the audition in advance; a rare opportunity to come by.

"We sincerely apologize for this, ma'am… but it looks like Jamie up and left the recital…"

"I can't believe he actually did it!" Alan exclaimed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And for what? To perform a show at a restaurant for his friend's parents of all things; and on this night!" Wasting no more time, he rushed to the parking lot to find his car and start it up.

Unable to give Mrs. Duffleworth a proper and brief explanation for Jamie's sudden disappearance, Marie asked Rosalita to follow her and her husband to Banger's & Mosh before jumping in with him.

Rosalita respected her employer's wishes and escorted their guest, still perplexed by this sudden turn of events, to her car.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll explain everything on the way."

With her passenger taking a spot in the backseat, the housekeeper started up her car and followed the Mavericks out from the parking lot and onto the dark but illuminated streets. There they drove their way to downtown Royal Woods where the English establishment resided. While Alan and Marie were bent on confronting their son for his defiance, Rosalita felt a soothing content within her conscience, knowing that Jamie, at least in her opinion, made the right decision.


End file.
